Why are people selling pineapples, avocados, & bananas at NFM?
Growing Local isn’t simply about eating local foods–it’s about supporting local businesses. Sometimes local foods aren’t available (out of season, or perhaps it can’t even be grown in the TN climate). The roots of NFM are in being an urban market/grocery store & serve the needs of the downtown community. NFM merchants want to provide you with a one-stop shopping source for what you need to make your meals as much as possible. Also, when you purchase that pineapple, you can feel good knowing you are supporting a locally-owned small business versus a big-box conglomerate. There are typically never more than 10 merchants who have been granted approval to sell these off-season and/or non-local foods available for your shopping (& non-chain store buying convenience). During growing season, 70% or more of what they sell will come from local farms (& in some cases, their own!) with a large amount of the remainder coming from regional sources such as Alabama or Georgia peaches before Tennesse
