Did you ever notice how veggies that go straight from the garden to your dinner table taste so much better than those you pick up at the grocery store? While the freshness of home grown fruits and vegetables can't be beat, you can still find some very fresh and delicious local produce at your nearest farmer's market or farm stand. Choosing locally grown fruits and vegetables whenever possible adds to the flavor of whatever you're cooking or baking. value chain

The Yardley Inn Restaurant & Bar procures only the freshest local ingredients, fruits, and vegetables for its cuisine. Executive Chef Eben Copple feels strongly about choosing just the right vegetables, herbs, and spices to create a culinary experience his guests won't soon forget. The chef is a fan of locally grown and locally produced ingredients in all that he cooks, from vegetables to herbs, cheese to seafood. He also believes that farm markets have a lot to offer the consumer in freshness, value, and local flavor.

"When I was a little boy my parents made a point of going to the farmer's market in my hometown of Lawrence, Kansas every Saturday, " Chef Copple recalls. "I remember the feeling of a freshly picked cucumber and that particular prickly coating they have when they've not been coated with wax to preserve them and make them artificially shiny. It was obvious how much more flavor there was in the back of those pickups pulled up in a downtown parking lot than in every supermarket in town. That prickly cucumber REALLY tasted like a cucumber. "

Top Five Reasons to Buy Locally Grown Produce

1. Freshness & Taste - Local produce is generally as fresh as you can get without growing it yourself. The taste of fresh fruits and veggies improves with more freshly picked, local produce.

2. Healthy Choices - Besides the freshness, most if not all locally grown produce is untreated and free from additives and preservatives.

3. Heritage - Buying fresh local produce encourages continued growth of heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables, especially tomatoes.

4. Community - When you purchase local produce, you are helping to sustain the local economy and upholding the way of life of area farmers.

5. Green Lifestyle - Purchasing fresh produce from farms and farmer's markets drastically reduces the amount of resources like fuel and packaging necessary to get the fruits and vegetables to your dinner table.

"The produce is always going to taste better because it comes a shorter distance and has been allowed to ripen properly before harvesting, " Chef Copple explains. "The real reason I'm so gung-ho about local produce, however, is a matter of conserving the past and protecting our future. "