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BITS AND PIECES - 08/03/2008
(by Howard Ball - OpEd Columnist - August 06, 2008)
Fresh and fabulous at the farmers’ market
I had the great pleasure of shopping at the Ringwood Farmers’ Market this past Saturday. As you may know I am an advocate of buying from local farmers and the Ringwood market hits the spot. I believe that we must support small farmers or lose one of America's foundations. We were born of the land, and the land has made our nation great. There is nothing in the world like fresh produce just harvested by the people you buy it from.
I was pleased by the look of the Ringwood market and by the number of white-tented vendors. Not only farmers but coffee roasters and the "Jam Man" were lined up for your shopping pleasure.
After I purchased some fresh red beets, I had a nice conversation with Doris Bialas of the Bialas Farm. They are located in the north end of the black dirt in Orange County, N.Y. Our family has been traveling to Pine Island, N.Y., for produce as long as I can recall. The great Juraz family stand closed a couple years ago and was replaced by hoity-toity landscape stuff. The Sudols still operate at the top of the hill but Pine Island has been invaded by condos, and acres of the precious black dirt do not produce onions or pumpkins. Sussex County in Jersey is also on the developers’ list of places to destroy farming.
When I took my beets to the check-out, the young lady asked if I wanted the tops removed and I told her I would probably eat them first. (They were delicious when steamed.) I had a chance to chat with Doris Bialas, matriarch of the farm and in charge of the sales. The Bialas Farm started in 1939 on land the family had been brought up on.
With 55 acres today, they serve several farmers’ markets and numerous festivals. It is still a family operation. Doris said the farmers’ market benefits the farmer because they can get a fair retail price for produce. On the other hand, when produce is sold at wholesale to brokers, farmers often do not even meet the cost of growing the crop. That's why the farmers’ markets are beneficial to the family farmer.
The Ringwood, Riverdale and Pompton Lakes farmers’ markets provide the opportunity to purchase the best and freshest produce available. You can even ask when it was picked and where it came from. You can also visit the farms.
An unusually quiet Sunday morning
It was very quiet on Romain Avenue last Sunday morning. The putt-putt of the lawn mowers and the racket of trimmers was not to be. Garage doors were closed. Children were using "inside voices" and not a single dog was barking. (Sam, the married dog, barked once.)
The annual Romain Avenue bash was the day before and people needed peace to recover.
I had rescued some of Trish Lucus' meatballs and some of John Gabriel’s special chicken salad and I made lunch of that. There was none of Edwin Comia's pork on a stick left; that was all consumed at the party. There were sweet memories of the kids playing in the street and the adults with the karaoke echoing on the block. Romain Avenue is alive and well again, but this Sunday morning it was taking a nap!
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