There is a proposed Public Market in Boston, that would go along the Rose Kennedy Greenway, near Haymarket. The concept is that it will only sell Massachusetts grown foods. Personally, I think it will quickly evolve into a New England thing, for no other reason than the variety that we get from all the states here. Add to that, how small the region is, compared to states on the other side of the Mississippi. Local is the new organic, which was the new something and so on. Is a Massachusetts-only Market taking this trend too far? I can drive to parts of Maine in less time than it takes to get to the other side of the state.
I am also curious about the Fall/Winter. As we know, options become more limited. Can a large Public Market, along with all the Winter Markets that have started recently, sell produce only grown here in the state? I think this will be a great test for how big the locavore movement really is. The movement is real, it is important (for our health, and for local businesses, and small farms), and I want it to continue. I am just curious how they are going to do, with a large number of vendors selling the same six things.
Will this change what people grow? Competition sparks a many interesting thing. We could see a bigger variety of the produce grown. When I was in Western MA, one farm had orange, yellow, and rainbow carrots. I have seen watermelon radishes in Somerville. Perhaps this will play out in farm growing a variety of types of produce that grow well here in the region.
Public market to focus strictly on Mass. products – The Boston Globe