Farmer’s Market to encourage buying locally

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Indiana is one of the top corn-producing states in the nation, but corn is not the only vegetable on the menu.

This Saturday, Bloomington residents will get a chance to see what other foods Southern and Central Indiana have to offer at the Winter Farmers' Market. The Local Growers Guild will host the first of 10 farmers' markets at the Harmony School gymnasium from 9 a.m. to noon.

Not only does the event offer a cheap alternative to dorm food, it also gives students a chance to learn about local growers and the benefits of buying locally-raised crops and meats. By removing the middlemen of food production and distribution, and cutting the distance between farm and fork, the final product not only becomes cheaper but more sustainable. Isabel Estevez, a member of the Indiana Public Interest Research Group, testifies to the food's quality, especially the meat. She said it's "the best beef you can get around here."

Originally orchestrated by a club dedicated to what their Web site calls "the opposite of fast food," Slow Food Bloomington handed the event over to the Local Growers Guild two years ago. Slow Food Bloomington felt the market was a better fit for the Guild's objectives, and since it is only the Guild's second year running the event, they're still trying to spread the word.