Buy local produce

The Bangor Daily News editorial (June 23) about the buying practices of supermarket chains in Maine only addressed part of the issue. If Maine residents really want to have farmers in their communities in the decades to come, they will have to buy their products. That can happen at many places: sometimes a supermarket, but more often a farmers’ market, a farmstand, a restaurant that uses local suppliers or a locally owned retailer who understands the importance of supporting nearby suppliers.

If every Maine family spent $10 a week on local produce over the next six months, we’d keep another $100 million circulating in the state’s economy. Right now, that’s money that flows to California, Mexico, Chile and beyond. Ultimately, Maine supermarkets will only make local produce available when consumers show them they’ll go elsewhere to find it.

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association believes strongly in the importance of a local food system. When we can describe the farm where the food on our dinner table was grown, we’ll have made some significant changes. Hopefully the supermarkets will be part of that effort. Russell Libby Executive director Maine Organic Farmers and Gardiners Association, Augusta