Take a peek inside locals’ shopping bags and learn how they use health and beauty products in everyday life.
Name: Madelyn Romero
Age: 20
Occupation: Student (sustainability major)
Where spotted: Phoenix Public Market
What she purchased:
• Bouquet of flowers
• Variety of vegetables from Maya’s Farm: onions, braising mix of greens, broccoli, chard, cucumbers, spigarello
Her must-haves: The flowers are so pretty, I had to get some to decorate the kitchen. I also love the Armenian cucumbers. They’re great on salads, but I can just eat them plain, too.
Her new find: One of the new items I purchased is called spigarello. I hear you prepare it a lot like kale, so I’ll probably just cook it with coconut oil and salt for a healthy snack. But I decided to try it out because they ran out of kale in the first half hour.
How she benefits: Basically all of my items are just healthy in themselves. From a sustainability standpoint, they are all local foods, which greatly reduces the food miles and environmental impact. Everything is also pesticide-free and herbicide-free, which is great for health reasons because those chemicals can potentially be harmful to ingest.
Why they fit her style: I think my purchases really show the fact that I’m in sustainability school. I buy from Maya because she grows her own food, and I hope to do the same someday in the future. Buying local benefits both the environment and our health at the same time.
