This week, there was an event going on in Rundle Mall called Tasting Australia. Tasting Australia is an event where local food and beverage companies showcase their products. There are various locations around Adelaide where people can sample free local cheese, ice cream, kombucha, and loads of other locally-made food items! This is one of the many ways the South Australian government highlights small local businesses.
One of the biggest differences that I have noticed between Raleigh and Adelaide is the focus on local food. Both Raleigh and Adelaide give residents access to local produce and food, through the North Carolina State Farmer's Market and the Central Market respectively. However, local produce is not always an affordable option for people who live in Raleigh, which is why most people buy their produce from supermarkets and grocery stores. These stores often have a majority of imported produce and even domestic produce is usually grown on the other side of the country in states like Washington. In Adelaide, even chain supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths contain almost exclusively Australian (often South Australian) produce.
While I was buying my groceries at Coles this week, I noticed a sign on the milk cartons letting customers know that the price of milk would be going up by fifty cents and that the profits from the price increase would go directly to South Australian dairy farmers. Similarly, the price of bananas was incredibly high when I first arrived in Adelaide, due to flooding in Queensland destroying the yield. With these price fluctuations, the produce at the Adelaide Central Market tended to be the same price as supermarket produce, if not cheaper. In Raleigh, going to a farmer's market is almost always the more expensive option.
These types of observations made me think more about where my food comes from and how the global food market can really impact the livelihood of domestic farmers.