Omnivore Atlanta

People living on food stamps have been given an incentive to shop at farmers’ markets.

Thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Wholesome Wave Foundation, Atlanta-based nonprofit Georgia Organics has kicked off a Double Value Coupon Program which matches food stamp dollars spent at participating farmers’ markets.

“For a limited time, all food stamp dollars will have double the buying power at three Atlanta farmers markets,” Georgia Organics Executive Director Alice Rolls says. “Food stamp recipients still can choose to spend their food stamp dollars any where that accepts them, but at farmers markets, where local, fresh, and healthy food is sold, one dollar is equal to two dollars.”

Georgia Organics communications director — and former CL staff writer — Michael Wall says the effort is modeled after similar programs in San Diego, Baltimore and the Northeast United States. The program ends when the money runs out, he says, but fundraising could keep it operational.

More information about the program, including the participating farmers’ markets, after the jump.

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Back in July, I complained about my experience shopping for Fuji apples, which I eat almost daily. I’d go to Whole Foods and pay a small fortune for organic Fujis, take them home and find them not nearly as crisp and sweet as the conventionally grown, cheaper ones at Publix.

This remained true throughout the summer, although Publix’s apples decreased in quality too, most of them coming from South America. This month, the Washington state Fujis have been harvested and primo quality has returned to the Publix apples. They are rosy red, sweet, crisp and perfect with Drunken Goat cheese, a Spanish cheese soaked in Doble Pasta wine that I’ve been addicted to for nearly a year. (Tip: Drunken Goat, mild and fruity for a goat cheese, is comparatively inexpensive — especially at Whole Foods, where it costs $2 less per pound than at Alon’s, my other regular source for it.)

So, I was in Whole Foods yesterday and decided to buy a few of the store’s organic Fujis, fresh from Washington. Surprise, surprise. Once again, even at the peak of the season, they didn’t hold a candle to Publix’s apples — from coloration to sweetness to texture. But, hey, they sure looked good in the store display.

I do not get it. The Fuji, an apple developed by the Japanese in the 1930s but not exported to the United States until the ’80s, has a long shelf life, compared with other apples. What to do? As the New York Times reported recently, apples are a fruit that is particularly vulnerable to pesticide absorption, so there’s plenty of incentive to go organic, even if taste isn’t part of it.

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The Morningside Farmers Market, on North Highland Avenue across from Alon’s Bakery, has been vending organic produce Saturdays, 8-11:30 a.m., more than 10 years now. There are quite a few such markets in the Atlanta area and throughout the state now. You can find a complete list here. (You’ll also find a list of restaurants featuring organic food on the same site.)
It won’t be long before the markets are overflowing with the best-tasting tomatoes available. Here are a few random shots at last week’s Morningside Market.

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