I am honored to introduce you all to Alok Appadurai as our Local Perspective today! Alok and his Partner Jade are to founders of Fed By Threads, a clothing company based in Arizona , are strong advocates for all things local and sustainable. Through their company and their daily lives, they truly strive to be the change they wish to see in the world! Plus, their clothes are awesome and super comfy 🙂
Please join me in welcoming Alok to the blog today!
xoxo,
M
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Shifting to locally grown foods has caused ripples in my life that continue to reverberate. Most people will say that a tomato made near by simply tastes better, and, for the most part, that is absolutely true. But what tastes better are the human relationships I am building!
I now source much of my food from two places: the farmers markets and the local food coop here in Tucson. On Sundays when I make my way to the local farmers market, I see people like Anne from High Energy Agriculture, who’s gotta be over 70, has seen my son since he was born, and who makes food the right way. But it is her smile that really is the main draw. We know her name, she knows ours.
Likewise, our local food coop called the Foood Conspiracy is staffed by some of the most thoughtful people: they too know my family’s names, what we like to eat, go out of their ways to help us find things, and do it with pleasure. I can’t say how opposite this is to an experience of shopping at Safeway that is staffed by people who seem to be simply logging hours until clocking out, who are nameless to me and I to them, and where the establishment feels filled with fake items that are intended to convince me it is food. So while the Food Conspiracy doesn’t only offer local items, there is a local feel that I associate with the food I get there that can’t be beat.
Local food allows us to connect to people who care about what your family eats. How do we put value on that?
Alok Appadurai is co-founder of Fed By Threads, is a public speaker, a business coach (www.AlokAppadurai.com), a writer, an environmentalist, an animal-advocate, and a dad.
