There have been articles in the paper about the dearth of fresh food for rural people in the deep south, and that's true. Of course Mississippi was the worst. Widely scattered little towns, few supermarkets lead to lack of access to fruits and vegetables etc. In the spring and summer I buy fresh produce off the back of Mr. Mose' truck when he sets up in town by the old postoffice. His variety is limited, but always welcome.
When I was a kid, we grew almost everything we ate in the spring and summer. In winter, it was food Mama had canned, or smoked. Very few fresh foods, fruits and veggies in winter except greens and sweet potatoes. That's why when we got an orange and an apple at Christmas it was considered a good gift. (It's only now as I type this that I realize that.)

Today it's almost as despairing. I just simply did not want to cook. So I drove the 15 miles to the county seat to get a "mybloggers burger." But sitting in the drive thru lane, I couldn't stomach the thought and drove away. What luck! I took a road away from town I rarely take and saw a billboard advertising a country store. Not expecting much, I arrived and it felt heavenly.

It was a country store set in a grove of pecan trees with a rustic old barn not far away. In the dappled shade I heard two roosters crowing at each other as I opened the door of the car. There was a peaceful sense to this place. On the front porch was a display of hand made big heavy rocking chairs fashioned by the Amish from hickory trees.

As soon as you open the door to the store, there were loaves of bread for sale, made this morning. Home made pies were on another table. There were shelves of Amish products, honeys and jams and all kinds of products that made me happy. There were home made cheeses and butters, and rich thick milk that looked the way milk used to look.

The proprietor had bags of fresh lettuce in the cooler, grown in her garden, and bins of new potatoes and onions. She cooks lunch there every day, and had stewed squash, which she gave a sample to me. I emptied my pocket book (fresh ain't cheap) and bought a loaf of bread, vegetables, cheese, a sweet potato pie and other things. A wonderful place-- I wrote a letter to the editor of the paper about this place and maybe that will help get and keep enough clientele that this store will be there from now on.

At least enough to support the fresh food movement.

susil