We visited Blue Barn Produce & More in Caldwell, Idaho, forIdaho Preferred, a month where Idaho celebrates the harvest and encourages people to buy locally grown produce.
Blue Barn is a 2nd generation family enterprise, with Dad still driving the tractor and planning neat rows of cabbage, pumpkins, sunflowers, corn, and eggplant among other vegetables and flowers. Alli Bicandi, his daughter, runs the garden and store just a few minutes off I-84.
"We find that people are in the lower and medium income brackets wanting to feed their families healthy, and they use their money the right way. If you buy locally, and if you buy in bulk, it's going to be better for the family and better for your income in the long run," says Alli.
In addition to having a store stocked for people coming in just to pick up a few things for dinner or the week, they also take larger orders a day in advance for people who preserve vegetables. Those orders are harvested the next morning.
And that way, people can stay "Idaho Preferred" all winter long.
