When I first connected with Seacoast Eat Local this past spring I immediately began to take interest in buying my fruits and vegetables locally. Knowing that I’m supporting local farms and businesses feels really good, but it’s even more refreshing to be able to see where your fruits, vegetables, and meats come from. I pass many local farms everyday that advertise great prices and fresh product and figured I should try to do all of my grocery shopping this week at one of them!
For my first big local farm grocery haul I decided to go to Tendercrop Farm in Dover, NH. I’ve seen this beautiful red barn many times and thought it would be a great starting point. As it turns out, it was a great place to continue my journey of staying away from processed foods. I was shocked at the variety they have! A lot of my favorites from my weekly grocery list are currently in season such as green onion, carrots, and spinach, and Tendercrop has them all. Foods are at their peak freshness right after they are harvested, and you can tell just by looking at how colorful they are. They also have the most nutrients at this time as well.
I should make special note that not all of the products at Tendercrop were grown there. They purchase in a number of products and are certainly a large farm and grocery business for our area that operates on more of a corporate model. They also operate in two locations, in Dover and in Amesbury, MA. However, Tendercrop has a clear list of which products are their own so I made sure to pick up some of their eggs, lettuce, and asparagus as well. Even though I was there for about 45 minutes and had a full basket I feel like I didn’t even make a dent in the store! They also have a variety of their own meats, dried herbs and flowers and more. My mind is racing just thinking about all of the meals I can make with my purchases and what I didn’t even get!
My experience at Tendercrop reinforced my decision to buy local foods. I was able to ask the people who work there specific questions about their crops and how they are grown and receive answers immediately. I’m not much of a meat eater but an employee did tell me that they have their own grass fed beef which is higher in nutrients and “leaner”. It was great to have all of this knowledge at my fingertips as opposed to going to a big-chain grocery store! Besides the personal interactions, buying from places like Tendercrop cuts down on pollution as they don’t have to ship their product. As someone who is very environmentally conscious, this provides an ease of mind. As you can see there are many benefits that come from supporting your community’s farms. I can’t wait to continue buying from Tendercrop and to try other, smaller and family owned farms in the seacoast region!