There is little doubt that the Reston area is a shopping mecca. Yet there are advantages to having small local stores.
The market pictured to the left is the Coastal Community Market which sells organic produce and foods in Beaufort, NC.
It is the first of its kind in Carteret County.
It also sells one of my favorite foods, Marmite. There is something special about going into a place where the choices are limited, but the food is as local as possible.
You can actually have a conversation at the cash register instead of just anonymously sliding your card through the card machine.
In my case the owner was pleased to find that I liked Marmite since most area people know nothing about it.
I have always been a sucker for small community run grocery stores. First there was Beaver Fruit Cooperative in Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia. Then there was an organic foods shop in Fredericton, NB.
After we moved from Columbia, MD, we were excited to find the Roanoke Natural Foods Coop.
In Reston, I loved to shop at Whole Foods where I could get Icelandic Salmon. I often visited Trader Joes just for a change of pace.
I wonder if higher energy costs and continuing food safety problems will eventually create a renaissance in local food?
Time will tell.
