How to find local produce at the grocery store in the wintertime!

I am absolutely thrilled to share with you my conversation with Jim Alsmeyer, produce manager at Harvest Market in Champaign, IL. I have known Jim for a few years, since before Tim & I started selling our canned goods at the Urbana Farmer's Market at the Square. When I was trying to figure out the whole selling thing, I started asking questions at the grocery store when I saw Linda's Salsa (there's a story there!) at County Market sometime before 2019. County Market led me to Jim at Harvest Market, and we have been talking ever since.
Now I don't want to go off on a rant, but ... this is My Magnificent Obsession of 2024 ... we must all grow and preserve our own food, get it from the Farmer's Market, and/or learn how to source it at the grocery store. Why? Because it is really hard to find locally-grown produce at the grocery store. Not just in the wintertime. I am going to make it my project to regularly walk through produce sections and identify Great Finds.
I approached him again after my meltdown earlier this year, when I couldn't find not just local Illinois tomatoes, but local USA tomatoes. Granted, it was post-season, but I was surprised I couldn't find ANYTHING locally-grown. I knew Jim always had more locally-grown produce available than other stores in town, but I didn't realize the extent of it. The audio in the video is surprisingly terrible -- it sounds like we're at an amusement park -- but the content of what he says is practically magical.
I am hoping to forge more of a relationship with Harvest Market. They have an awesome kitchen, and I'd like to teach some canning classes there to preserve all this local produce!
Please give me feedback of what you would like to see. My mission is preserving locally-grown food because it tastes better and is healthier because the preservatives are in the canning process itself, not in harmful chemicals. Plus, have you tasted a tomato at the grocery store lately? Better to grow your own, or get at the Farmer's Market, or find them at Harvest Market. But ask your grocer. I did, and our stuff tastes better because of it!
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