Community features a 'foodie' culture

Living near Sandpoint I couldn’t relate to Michelle Obama when she spoke of food deserts. We have wonderful rich “foodie” culture here. Wonderful restaurants of which there are to many really good ones to mention, a farmers market, every grocery store has a little organic veggie section and two, count them, two stores dedicated to natural food, Truby’s and Winter Ridge. Myself, I grow about 4,000 square feet of organic garden. Many of us do have gardens here. And there are many small farmers around with wonderful food. Oh yeah, don’t forget our community garden. So relating to a food desert while living in a food paradise wasn’t easy.

Work however has taken me away from home to the North Dakota oil patch. Upon arriving in Williston, population 17,000, I acquired a phone book to look up a good place to shop for food.

No farmers market, no natural food store, only one of three grocery stores even had organic veggie section and no foodie style restaurants. Pretty much just mass produced plastic food. Now I can relate to our first lady’s “food desert.” Still after nine months of searching that 3-foot organic section remains the highlight of North Dakota food.

Thanks Sandpoint for such a wonderful, rich, eclectic food experience to come home to. Hope you appreciate it, too. Eat well.

ROBERT HINRICH

Sandpoint