Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Coming here to America made me realize how good and delicious vegetables and fruits are from home. My family almost never buys vegetables or fruits from the grocery stores instead we buy them from a woman who has her own little farm. She has a huge variety of vegetables starting with tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, cabbages, carrots and of course fruits like cherries, strawberries, oranges and peach.
Let me tell you that there are so many people back home like her who come to the city every day to sell their harvest. You can see these people almost everywhere around the city. Usually they are sitting by the little shops or renting a small area at the bazaars. A more unusual place where you can see local farmers is the highway. Over the summer the most popular fruits are watermelons and melons. Driving on the highway to the beach you can see hundreds of farmers hanging out in the shade of the trees with their huge melons and watermelons. The best part of it is the price and of course the taste. Usually during the months of July and August prices vary from 20 to 50 cents per 2 pounds.
For me as a person who came to the United States from different country daily eating fresh and organic farm products, even though I’m from a big city, it was not a usual thing to buy fruits and vegetables from the grocery stores. The taste is very different and not in a good way. Also the color and sizes of some products look strange to me. I think that most of the people here in the big cities don’t even know the real taste of fresh and organically grown products. People are just getting used to the taste and don’t ask themselves how “real food” tastes like. I got used to it too until recently I ate tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers from the Nourish The Planet’s greenhouses. It made me remember the good old taste of vegetables from back home and appreciate farmer’s products. Definitely something to think about the next time you go to the grocery store!
Written by Anastassiya Zherdeva, Business Development Intern, Summer 2012
Recent Comments