In November, the UT School of Public Health took a novel approach to fighting obesity among citizens of the Brownsville area: It fed them! Fresh veggies and fruits, that is. Research indicated that the diabetes rate in Cameron County is twice that of the national average, that 52.2 percent of the over-18 population is obese, and that access to fresh produce was limited. So folks from UT, local farms, and the Texas Department of State Health Services collaborated to start a market that would at once provide access to fresh produce and educate folks about nutrition – all at an affordable price. A state grant enabled a system of vouchers that low-income families can use for their farmers-market shopping. And at this market, located along Linear Park’s walking trail, tables of vegetables are interspersed with tables offering glucose testing and nutrition information. The market is slated to continue every Saturday from 8 until noon through March, though funding is being sought to continue it year-round. Click here for more deets – and some groovy music.
UPDATE: The Brownsville Farmers’ Market has received permission to stay open through July 4 and resume operations on October 1. So far, partial funding has been secured, though additional funds are still being sought. [02.16.2009]
No pressure: “In someone else’s yard or farm,” is a perfectly acceptable answer to that question. That’s my answer in many years, too. I love to go to farmers’ markets, so why grow my own? I’d rather spend my Saturday mornings going to market than weeding. Every spring, though, the urge to get soil under my fingernails strikes me. And I don’t even mind the weeding all that much.
As part of the Texas Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association’s annual meeting, several farms around the state will offer free tours this Friday.
Lammes candies is selling its famous, limited-quantity fruits today through Saturday. After that, they’ll be gone again… and you never know when they’ll come back. They’re available at all of Lammes’s six 
The holiday of love is only two-and-a-half weeks away, folks. If you’re looking to love locally this year, check out these locavore ideas:
Cabbage
The best part of traveling? The food of course. In Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, last week, the local fare included plenty of fresh seafood, tropical fruits, pastries, even regional wine and a new-to-me liqueur called Damiana. Around the hotels, my husband and I tried to opt for the most locally representative dining spots we could find – choosing the sushi bar on the beach, for instance, over the place touted “one of the most famous Italian restaurants in all of Mexico” in the resort’s literature. We hit the local grocery store to stock our mini-kitchen with tortillas and beans, fruit juices and local wine.
Manuela’s house was the first one on the left nearly an hour’s drive from Lorena’s – after we’d forked west beyond the third water crossing and the first ocean-view summit. Pigs and roosters greeted us there, as did Manuela.
We cut into the cheese even before getting out of the car. Pure white in color, its texture was crumbly and its flavor at once sour and rich. Just as we’d hoped, it was different than anything we’d eaten before. Texas makes lots of 
