What a great local farming season we have had this year! Between all the local farmers delivering produce every week and two farmers' markets, we really are blessed here on the Palouse. But now that the markets are done for the season, you will have to turn to us for your local produce needs! Our local food movement here is quite vibrant and we are all the better because of it! Who would have thought that Idaho could be so progressive? I do believe that this will be our largest local season ever here at the Coop, judging just by the huge amounts of local onions, potatoes and pears that we have been selling this year. I have met several people embarking on an “eating local” challenge, where they try to eat mostly or only local produce for a dedicated period of time. If you are interested in challenging yourself and reducing your carbon footprint, the season is running short, but any produce staff person would be happy to help you identify which fall storage crops are local.

October marks the beginning of the federally mandated Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) program. Truth be told, we always try to limit the number of imported items that are sold in the produce department, but it is most difficult during the winter. During the summer and fall months though, the greatest percentage of produce we sell comes from Washington and Oregon, followed by California. While we do buy and sell as much local produce as we can, it still ends up as a smaller percentage of our total purchases. Only a very few tropical items are imported during the summer and fall months. Oh yeah, but back to the COOL program. Basically all retail establishments that do more than $230,000 in perishable agricultural commodity sales per year are required to label the country of origin on all fresh and frozen vegetables, seafood, meat and nuts. This includes the Co-op. We are updating our produce signs to include a “place of origin” label, since we will also be including states, on our regional items. This will actually be quite helpful to those of you who like to make informed purchasing decisions for ecological or ethical reasons.

Another recent topic of interest to our customers has been the FDA approval of irradiation of certain conventionally grown vegetables. There have been numerous questions about the issue, and much concern about whether or not organic produce is being irradiated. I can assure you that the FDA rule only applies to certain conventionally grown crops, primarily lettuce and spinach, and absolutely does NOT apply to organically grown vegetables. This rule is a response to the e-coli and salmonella outbreaks of the last two years. All irradiated produce will have to be labeled as such, probably in the same way that GMO produce can be identified by the fact that the Universal PLU numbers start with the number 8. Conventional produce PLU’s start with 4, organic produce PLU’s start with 9. The primary concern with irradiation of foods is that is might do more harm that it does good, and could remove nutrients from the produce.

As Thanksgiving approaches, consider including as much local and seasonal produce into your meal planning as possible. Look for these locally grown items in the month of November:

George's Carrots

Wild Chantrelles

Red and Green Cabbage

Leeks

Salad Mix

Gourds

Garlic

Pumpkins

Bok Choy

Red Onions

Yellow Onions

Winter Squash

Yukon Potatoes

Red Potatoes

Shallots

Apples