May 14, 2005

Reminder on Parking. For Neighborhood Day, May 14th the surface parking lot will be closed. There are two FREE lots nearby that you can use:
2009 N 14th Street, behind the Arlington Executive Building, (next to the Police Station) OR
2100 Clarendon Blvd. under the county offices and movie theater.

Learn more about neighborhood day at: http://www. arlingtonva.us/nd2005/NeighborhoodDay2005.aspx

There are additional benefits to shopping at farmer’s markets other than good food. Not that you’d need another reason, but we thought you’d be interested in these two news items.

When most people think about curbing global warming emissions, cars and power plants usually come to mind. But did you know that the production and transportation of the food consumed by the typical American generates nearly as much carbon dioxide as the average car? That's because the standard kilogram of food consumed today in the United States travels 1,500 miles from farm to plate.

Peter Hoffman, national chair of the Chef's Collaborative, a nationwide network of food producers with a mission to advance a more sustainable food supply, and the owner and chef of New York City's Savoy restaurant says, "If you want to reduce your environmental impact, in particular your carbon dioxide emissions, then the less fossil fuels that are used to get food to you, the better. You can start simply by going to a farmers' market, buying something locally produced and incorporating it into your regular shopping."
From the April/May issue of National Wildlife magazine.

And here’s another news item on the benefits of buying food produced close to home. A study from England added up the shopping basket’s hidden costs, including transportation over long distances. Read more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4312591.stm