The 1993 film version of Ethan Frome was filmed in the town of Peacham, VT, where I once lived. As the story is set in a time before electricity, Peacham agreed to bury its power and phone lines for the filming. The effect was brilliant, and everyone loved the look. But the ledge in Peacham is too shallow, so the State required the lines remounted after filming. And so the town’s 1800s character was again lost. How calming it was. How healthy it felt. Sutton is on the brink of this accomplishment, and permanently too. Bravo Sutton! Believe me, Rue Principal will look and feel wonderful! So perhaps it’s time to consider another step back to a healthier time, a time when we grew our own food.
Now take a breath, I’m not suggesting Victory Gardens and lots of hoeing, though eating a tomato picked just moments ago might change your mind. No, I’m only observing how far our food travels to get to our table. And how much time, effort, energy, carbon dioxide and packaging go into it. Just how artificially sturdy must our produce be to get here unbruised? It will soon be summer, so it’s worth a thought.
Local products have trouble finding space in today’s supermarkets. Shelf space is bargained for and expensive, and usually what gets put where is decided far from the store. Products not available year round start with a disadvantage because they will take space only part of the year. And while some supermarkets do stock some local fare, getting local products to where you can buy them is difficult. Farmers’ markets help a bit, as do farm stands, but how can we enjoy local products more fully, and for more of the year?
In Barre, Vermont, a group calling themselves LACE, Local Agricultural Community Exchange, has emerged as a potential solution. Their overarching goal is one of education: “Lacing the people back into the land that feeds them.” Their mission is to pick-up, transport, sell and store local products for use now and the rest of the year. It’s a bit of your milkman, farmer-neighbor, grandmother and grocer all rolled into one. There’s to be a store, a café, community space for workshops and demonstrations, and a large kitchen, both for hire and for reducing fresh foods to storage-ready packages. LACE’s SVO truck (straight veggie oil) will be powered using spent cooking oil from the kitchen. Any produce that won’t survive the night will be donated to local food shelves. Farmers and their consumers will finally have a place to meet over coffee and learn the other’s concerns. If successful, old-style relationships will be re-established. It all opens in June, and Jackson Browne is even coming to sing a 3-hour benefit concert. They’re serious! ( www.lacevt.org)
But Suttonites can get serious too. Sutton has many such connections, albeit informal ones. La Rumeur Affamée’s bread is surely fresher now that it is baked just a walk away by Monsieur Picarda at La Valse des Pains, instead of in Montreal. An organic cow for slaughter (or a part thereof) can be yours from Farmer Cooke up on Schweizer Road. Berries are available from Ferme du Massif Sutton, as are organic vegetables from Les Jardins de Tessa (at the Saturday Flea Market) and from Les Potagers des Nues Mains (in delivered baskets.) The options are many and delicious.
Want more? Go tell your grocer to stock more local fare; he’ll be glad for the market research. And then go play the tourist, as I did, and let Melanie and Marie at Sutton’s Tourist Office point you toward local vendors. Then start contacting them and giving them a try. You’ll meet new friends, have fresher and tastier food, and eat fewer preservatives. You’ll be healthier, and so will the environment and Sutton’s economy. Maybe you yourself will emerge as an expert on all things local. Bon appetit!
Jay Sames
ED NOTE: Jay lives in Vermont and is a frequent visitor to Sutton.