A Step To Something More...Perhaps.

There was a green sign. That was the first thing I noticed, was the bright green sign with the words 'Liberty Heights Fresh'. The sun was setting behind the sign, illuminating it, drawing me in, so I gladly went in. I could smell the ripe apricots from across the street, see the bright signs luring me inside. The entrance really wasn't a door per-say, it was more of a large garage door wide open, welcome all customers and people inside the small store. I browsed all the delicious fruits, apples, strawberries, raspberries, figs, and much more. I found local jars of honey, bottles of olive oil and fresh cheeses. As I picked out a ripe apple and a bottle of black tea I began to think. I thought, and thought and thought while I ate my crisp apple, not paying attention to the sticky juices running down my arm. I my thoughts were curious, I wondered if me, one small person, am I contributing to a greener world by buying local groceries from a locally owned grocery store? So I sat and pondered my question and listened, smelled, tasted and engulfed myself in the local atmosphere of this simple grocery store.

The first thing I noticed was the signs around me. Most of them included the words 'local', 'organic' and 'fresh'. The apple had me convinced that every product in the store contained all those words. I could taste the freshness, the simple '9' in front of the produce code numbers indicated it was organic, and the reassurance of the cashier let me know it was local. But did everyone enjoy these specifications as much as me? Next I watched the people, they were the most important. There were lots of people to put into consideration, the farmers, the employees, the people shopping. Of course I couldn't speak to the farmers the next best was the employees. I noticed special things about them unique things. As I browsed around, taking everything in, a man asked if I needed any help, I smiled and said 'I'm alright, I'm just browsing." He smiled back and went about his work. Its nice to know your noticed in a store and that people are there to help when you need it. Later I saw the same man, and another kindly talking to one another, working together moving large boxes to the back. Even their mundane and daunting tasks seemed easy to them because they had a good attitude about it. After that I thought about the people who shop there. What are they like? Do they shop here a lot? Do they believe they are helping out a larger cause? The first person that stood out to me was a boy, sitting outside with his bike on a orange table, listening to his MP3 player and eating some food. A few minutes after I had sat outside on a matching bright orange rusting table, another boy came up and greeted the boy sitting. Boy 1 (who was sitting on the table), asked how Boy 2 (who had rode up on his bike) was doing. They obviously knew each and began talking. "Ya I just got back from traveling from Vancouver, BC to San Francisco." Said Boy 2. "Did you document it?" Asked Boy 1. "Ya we took a ton of pictures, I'll have to upload them to Facebook and show you." Boy 1 nodded. "Awesome bike, I didn't know you bought one." Said Boy 2. "Ya I actually bought it off criagslist from some Army guy who took it all around Europe." They continued talking and eventually Boy 2 said "Ya I haven't been here [Liberty Height Market] in a while, I should come here more often." That statement made me believe that they get a lot of regular customer. Regular customers who ride their bikes, and go on adventures. Later I watched as a man brought his child into the store. Without even realizing it, he's already setting the child up for a healthy lifestyle for his generation. He's learning about organically grown food and that buying locally benefits us as well as the farmers. Just like the small child, I was brought up to be concise about what I ate and how I treated the earth.

After I finished my food, packed up my things and began to walk home I thought about everything I had seen in that short time. I came to my conclusion, the answer was yes. Yes was all I could think. Yes, I can be the one to do my own part. Yes, people do care about their community by doing their part too. Yes, local farmers, grocers and customers benefit from me and other doing their small part to help build a greener better earth. So yes, I am buying locally and so are other for a greater cause, and of course the delicious food.