Peaches, watermelon, tomatoes, peppers, corn: summertime is the peak season for putting them on the table. And from Acworth to Smyrna, there’s no better place to buy these healthy favorites than shopping Cobb farmers markets for the most varied selection of fresh and local produce. Variety Equals Health Why shop the farmers market? Just ask Ann Kirk of Keep Smyrna Beautiful. “I may not know the latest research,” she says, “but I do know that there’s no comparison between a tomato just picked from the garden and a tomato that ripens on the shelf. It tastes better, and it’s better for you.”

Experts agree there is no question that eat-ing more fresh fruits and vegetables can dramati-cally improve your health. “Adding more produce to your diet benefits your digestive system and helps fight chronic conditions from diabetes to high blood pressure,” says Christen Miller, a dietician with Kaiser Permanente. “We encourage people to fill half their plates with fruit and vegetables. Going to the farmers market and trying new things is a great way to make your plate look like that.”

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s easy to get stuck in the routine of buying the same old carrots and lettuce at your local supermarket. Miller recommends making a habit of consuming “an edible rainbow” of different colored fruits and vegetables throughout the day. That’s because each kind of fruit or vegetable has its own unique nutritional value. Red produce, for example, is full of the cancer-fighting plant pigments lycopene and anthocyanin. Blueberries, prunes and other blue (or purple) fruits and vegetables contain the pigment anthocyanin for antioxidant effects that may minimize cancer risk and boost memory function.

The variety of produce at most local farmers markets makes it easier to vary the fruits and vegetables in your diet. “You find many varieties you won’t find in your big chain grocery stores,” says Johnny Fulmer, founder of the Marietta Square Farmers Market. Just as important, he adds, farmers markets offer fruits and vegetables pulled fresh from the earth. “We encourage our vendors to leave the vegetables in their natural state,” Fulmer says. “For instance, our garlic grower puts his garlic on the table fresh from the ground. It has dirt on it. This guy grew it, he knows what it tastes like and, if you ask him, he will tell you how to use every bit of it. You can’t get that at the grocery store.”

To find the peak times for particular fruits and vegetables, Laura Farmer, a dietician at WellStar, recommends using resources like georgiaorganics.org. She points out that just showing up at the farmers market is perhaps the easiest way to find the freshest produce. “If you are buying local, you’ll get what is in season and at its best,” she says. “In a grocery store, you don’t know how long the produce has been in transit. Fruits and vegetables that are exposed to light or inappropriate temperatures start to lose their nutrients and vitamins.”

Budget-Friendly Foods

Some consumers fear that fresh and local produce is more expen-sive than commercially marketed food. However, many experts argue that in the long run, eating healthy is much more cost-efficient than buying heavily processed food at the big chain stores. “When you buy local and in season, you get more bang for your buck nutritionally because local, fresh food is at its peak for nutrients,” says Miller. “It might even be cheaper than what you will find pre-packaged in the store because having to peel and package produce costs more.”

You can also rest easy knowing that the food you buy is safe for your family. “You may pay more, but you have the advantage of know-ing this produce has no pesticides, chemicals or contaminants,” says Kirk. “When we buy produce that has been shipped across the world, we may not know what their laws are for pesticides and spraying. It makes a big difference to buy from a grower you can actually shake hands with.”

Cris Welch, a Kennesaw councilwoman who oversees a number of public health initiatives (including fitcitykennesaw.com), says that eating healthy on a budget is mostly a matter of education. “It’s cheap to eat healthy at the farmers market. People are scared because they don’t know how to do it. They think it’s easier to do the drive-through on the way home for $5,” she says. “But I’ve learned you can go to the farmers market, get fresh produce and make cauliflower pizza for just $2. And the kids will have a blast doing it with you.”

Family-Friendly Communities

With its laid-back, open-air atmosphere, the farmers market is an ideal destination for families. Children get to see what potatoes and carrots look like fresh out of the ground. They can also see, touch and taste new foods, meet the people who grow them and learn first-hand the benefits of eating fresh and local.

Welch says that given the obesity epidemic in Georgia and across the nation, exposing children to fresh and local food is absolutely critical. “This is the first generation that may not outlive their par-ents,” she says. A weekly trip to the farmers market is a fun way for families to create lifelong healthy habits. Kirk is equally passionate about making fresh and local a part of children’s daily lives. “I grew up on my grandfather’s farm, and in the summertime we ate from our garden every day,” she recalls. “Every child and every family should experience that.”

Many markets sprang from a desire to create a family-friendly, community-oriented space. For Fulmer, the farmers market is the culmination of a dream inspired by a trip to New York. “About 10 years ago, we visited our son in New York City, and he took us to the Green Market in Union Square,” he says. “We’d never seen anything like it. And my wife Susie said, ‘If they can do it in New York, we ought to be able to do it in Marietta.’” Today the Marietta Square Farmers Market, one of the oldest and most venerable markets in metro Atlanta, provides access to farm fresh produce and local dairy, baked goods and other products.

Over the years, the market has become a much-loved gathering place for foodies, friends and families. “It’s a fun thing to do with your friends on a Saturday,” Fulmer says, adding that the farmers market has helped to revitalize Marietta Square by drawing more people into the business district on weekends. Robert Fox, director of economic development in Kennesaw, sees the same dynamic at the Kennesaw Farmers Market. “It’s a way of bringing more traffic downtown,” he says. “We see retirees, moms with little kids and everyone in between.” The bottom line, says Kirk, is that the farmers market provides “all the benefits of getting out of the house, walking around, talking to people. It’s a great way to bring the community together.”

Other Avenues to Fresh

Another way to get regular access to farmers’ market quality produce is by subscribing to a community supported agriculture (CSA) service. With CSAs, households receive a weekly box of fresh and local produce for a flat fee. A particularly popular site for CSA pick-up is foodie destination Cook’s Warehouse, which hosts CSA delivery from Moore Farms. “The people who enjoy the CSA deliveries always remark on how it’s great to get local fresh food,” says David DiCorpo, general manager of the East Cobb Cook’s Warehouse. “Unless they’re planting it themselves, they can’t get food this fresh anywhere else, except at farmers markets. Knowing that this food has a minimal impact on the planet (in terms of fuel consumption to ship, energy consumption for long term storage, etc.) is also very important to our customers.” Like many CSA programs, Moore Farms offers not only produce but local meats, artisanal breads and more.

There is also a synergy between the farmers market and CSA movements and the home gardening trend. Most farmers markets have vendors who sell edible plants, as well as decorative shrubs and cut flowers. “The farmers market helps us promote gardening, which is a huge goal for our program,” says Kirk. “You can find many unusual things that are not available commercially. We also encourage ‘back-yard farmers’ to come to market. One family even brought their 6-year-old daughter to sell her vegetables.”

Find Farmers Market and CSA Locations Near You

Moore Farms CSA at Cooks Warehouse East Cobb
1311 Johnson Ferry Rd., Marietta
moorefarmsandfriends.com

Farmers Market Baskets
Food co-op with multiple delivery locations, including Acworth, Kennesaw and East Cobb.
farmersmarketbaskets.com

Acworth Farmers Market
Fridays, May–October, 7–11 a.m.
4846 S Main St., Acworth
Acworth.com/farmers-market

Mableton Farmers Market
Thursdays, 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Mable House Complex, 5239 Floyd Rd., Mableton
Mableton.com/mableton-farmers-market/

Kennesaw Farmers Market
Tuesdays, May–October, 7 a.m.–1 p.m.
Adams Park soccer field parking lot, in front of the Community Center
Kennesaw.com/kennesaw-farmers-market/

Smyrna Produce Market
Saturdays, May–September, 8 a.m.–12 p.m.
Parking lot of First Baptist Church of Smyrna, 1275 Church St. SE, Smyrna

Marietta Square Farmers Market
Every Saturday no later than 9 am to noon year round
North Park Square
Sunday from noon to 3 pm, May through October.
Mill St. off Mill Park Square
Marietta.com/marietta-square-farmers-market

Powder Springs Farmers Market
Thursdays, June–September, 4–8 p.m.
Community Development Building parking lot, 4488 Pineview Dr., Powder Springs

During the boom years of the late 20th century, the Atlanta region boasted some of the nation’s fastest growing counties. With high-paying jobs and a quality of life to match, satellite counties like Cobb, Gwinnett and DeKalb developed major universities, regional airports, world-class hospitals and entertainment arenas.

Lacking mountains or oceans to tame its unbridled growth, Atlanta became a metropolis on hyperdrive. To ease the congestion, the region widened highways and installed HOV lanes, but they were little match for the million new residents who have moved to Atlanta over the past decade. Drivers idled as their commutes ballooned to an hour each way, and Atlanta now lays claim to the ninth worst congestion in the country. With three million more residents expected over the next 30 years, the region’s already overburdened roadways will have to accommodate a population equivalent to that of the entire state of Mississippi. After many years of proposals and resolutions, local governments have come up with the Transportation Investment Act (TIA) in an effort to ease the burden, and on July 31, it will be put to the citizens of the metro region for a vote.

History of the Referendum

Kathryn Lawler, external affairs manager for the Atlanta Regional Commission, which supports the TIA, says that growth resulting from economic success created the first half of “the math problem.” The second half of “the math problem” is the fact that all federal and state transportation money comes from per-gallon federal and state gas taxes. The federal rate is currently 18.4 cents per gallon, and Georgians pay a flat 7.5-cent per gallon excise tax, a fluctuating 4 percent prepaid sales tax and a local tax rate of 2–4 percent, depending on the area. While Georgia has the 18th highest gas tax in the U.S., most of Atlanta’s transportation money is spent on current maintenance. As a result, the region ranks 48th in national transportation spending. This shortfall is exacerbated by the fact that the state has not raised the gas tax since 1971. In fact, this past June, Governor Nathan Deal halted a planned increase in the state gas tax, while the federal gas tax has remained stagnant since 1993.

The result of the population increase is seven of the worst freeway bottlenecks, including those linking I-285 to I-85, I-75 and I-20. Civic leaders, traffic engineers and regional planning agencies set about finding a solution to Atlanta’s traffic woes. The result was the TIA, passed by Georgia’s General Assembly in 2010. The law divided Atlanta into 12 regions, each represented at a roundtable led by the chairman of each county and a local mayor. The roundtables met for more than a year, whittling down a $22 billion wish list to fit the $8.5 billion Regional Transportation Referendum, a 10-year, one-percent sales tax designed to bridge the city’s transportation funding gap. “The referendum marks the largest public input project in the history of the city,” says Lawler, who notes that more than 200,000 people contributed ideas and opinions to the list.

After a year of civic meetings, citizen debate and academic study, the roundtables presented a final list of 157 projects designed to overhaul the way Atlanta lives, travels and does business. “Our economy works best when goods and people can get to where they need to go efficiently,” says Lawler, “and investing in infrastructure means employers suddenly have a larger talent pool to choose from, and employees have a greater number of jobs to choose from.”

Referendum Pros

Supporters of the new bill believe that the Regional Transportation Referendum marks an ambitious turning point in the history of the city, one as critical as the decision to build Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. “This referendum will really set the trajectory of the region for the next 20 to 30 years,” says Demming Bass, COO of the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce. “This vote is being watched globally by businesses thinking about [relocating] to the region.”

To alleviate the city’s global traffic woes, developers of the referendum settled on an 85- to 15-percent solution. Of the 157 proposed projects, most of which have sat on county backlogs for years, 85 percent are regional projects that impact a large number of people, while 15 percent address localized, county problems.

Region wide, the projects slated for development include fixing bottlenecks that connect Atlanta’s major highways to I-285, funding a streetcar project in downtown and Midtown, funding the initial east and west corridors of the Beltline, a major MARTA rail extension through Decatur’s Clifton Corridor and bus rapid transit routes that could accommodate light rail in the distant future. The bill also includes road widening, traffic signal synching and bridge improvements across the region, providing a transportation call center for elderly and disabled people and augmenting sidewalks, bike lanes and arterial roads in some of Atlanta’s most populous and congested areas. “Half of the projects on the list help people get off the roads and half of the list is designed to make the roads better,” explains Lawler.

The Stakes for Cobb

Cobb County is no stranger to transportation taxes. In late 2011, voters approved a four-year extension on a one-cent sales tax. The SPLOST, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2012, continues a tax that was approved six years ago. Proponents estimated that the tax would generate about $492 million, with more than $250 million going toward projects like installing sidewalks, repairing bridges and repaving roads all across the county.

Through the additional one-cent sales tax, Cobb County will receive just under a billion dollars in funding to improve nine intersections along Cobb Parkway, conduct interchange improvements to I-75 north at Windy Hill Road and install a new air traffic control tower and lighting system at McCollum Airport. Dozens of roads, including Roswell Road and South Cobb Drive, are also slated for alignments, widening, new overpasses and safety improvements. “Fifteen percent of the money will go to safe roads and intersection improvements in places like Mableton and Town Center, and a lot of the money will be spent to improve the roads near I-75 that back up the interstate,” says TIA supporter and Cobb County Chairman Tim Lee, during a June 6 wireside chat with nearly 3,000 Cobb citizens.

One of the referendum’s most ambitious projects is a premium bus rapid transit service that passes through Acworth and Kennesaw Town Center on its way to the MARTA Arts Center Station in Midtown Atlanta. “The project will include dual, reversible lanes independent of other traffic,” says Lee of the $700 million project. “The lanes will only carry commuter buses and bypass 75 entirely.” In the future, the bus line could be augmented with a light rail line for Cobb commuters traveling to Atlanta. “The Northwest Corridor transit project would provide great benefits for seniors and young residents of rapidly growing activity centers like Kennesaw, Marietta and Cumberland,” says Faye DiMassimo, director of the Cobb County Department of Transportation and a supporter of the referendum. “We’re currently working with several companies who are thinking about relocating to the region, but they’re sitting on the sidelines right now because of the congestion,” says Bass, who is keenly aware of the bill’s impact on economic development. In addition to maintaining a corporate edge, the region is expected to gain 34,000 construction jobs and 200,000 permanent jobs, most in the medium- to high-paying sectors, as a result of the planned projects.

Taxation Vexation

Understandably, many taxpayers are wary of handing over their hard-earned income for yet another pet project or spending scandal. The TIA stipulates that each of the 12 regions implement an independent citizens review panel charged with regular review of the projects within their jurisdiction. “Each regional review panel has oversight over the allocation of funds in their county, and they are responsible for submitting an annual report to the General Assembly,” says Lee. “It’s a system we’ve used in Cobb County for decades to ensure projects arrive on time and on budget.”

Unlike the Georgia 400 toll project, the referendum is designed to prevent indefinite taxation. “The bill is very clear that the tax cannot be renewed without an act approved by the majority of legislators within the region, which would then have to be passed by a majority of the counties,” says Lawler. “Then, another year-long roundtable process would start again before voters would even have the chance to reapprove the tax. By law, it would be illegal for the tax go a minute past the 10-year mark.”

The Regional Transportation Referendum, on average, will cost each Atlantan $112 a year, and businesses will have to pay the tax on each purchase they make, which could add up quickly. But supporters cite a recent Texas Transportation Institute study that estimates current congestion costs Atlanta commuters $924 a year. Besides fewer traffic accidents, cleaner air and shorter commute times, supporters contend that the $8 billion referendum projects will result in a $34 billion gross regional product return and $18 billion in fuel cost and time savings by 2040.

Referendum Cons

The Regional Transportation Referendum has been criticized by many groups, most of whom cite the scale of the proposed projects, the estimated costs, the legality of a region-wide tax, the role of public transit and the true effects on travel times as cause for concern. Groups like the Transportation Leadership Coalition and the Sierra Club are lobbying for alternative solutions to the city’s transportation problems.

The Transportation Leadership Coalition, a broad-based coalition of citizen lobbyists, formed in response to the referendum. On their website, Traffictruth.net, the group says that the proposed one-percent sales tax is “the largest tax increase in Georgia history” and that passage of the referendum will result in a 17 percent tax increase for the county. One of the group’s biggest concerns, however, is that the amount of money raised is not enough to complete the projects on the proposal list because the initial 10-year tax will only raise enough for studies, surveys and initial-phase completion of projects. “If this referendum passes, the projects won’t be done in 10 years, and they’ll have to come back to the taxpayer for another 10-year tax increase,” says Dr. William B. Hudson, treasurer of the Transportation Leadership Coalition. “In 10 years, we’ll still be billions behind, but they’ll have their foot in the door and shame taxpayers into finishing the job.”

Opponents of the transportation referendum also believe the pricey projects will do little to curb commute times. “A transportation plan that solved congestion would involve killing this bill and coming back with a better project list—one that actually offered road solutions. We have to get mass transit out of our minds,” says Hudson, who notes that only 5 percent of Atlanta commuters use bus or rail options. “Fifty-two percent of the public transportation projects proposed have nothing to do with congestion. Atlanta is one of the least densely populated major cities in the country and mass transit will not work here. MARTA is always losing money.”

Referendum opponents contend there is enough money in the current gas tax structure to fund vital road projects, and that a region-wide tax is illegal. “The referendum is unconstitutional because regional government takes away home rule and the county you live in doesn’t have a say anymore in how you are taxed,” says Hudson. The Transportation Leadership Coalition also takes issue with the idea that alternative transit fuels economic growth. “Major companies are looking for lower taxes, functional governments and functional schools—those are the reasons people keep coming here,” says Hudson.

Opposition groups differ on the role of public transit in handling Atlanta’s traffic problems. “Charlotte, Dallas and Houston all put in transit systems, and they’re losing money—you don’t build something that doesn’t offer a return on your investment. This tax is just not the answer,” says Hudson. The Sierra Club, however, opposes the referendum because it doesn’t do enough for public transit. “The Sierra Club successfully fought the Northern Arc project, we’ve pushed for more MARTA funding and we helped get the Beltline off the ground,” says Colleen Kiernan, Georgia chapter director of the Sierra Club. As long-standing advocates of mass transit, the Sierra Club supported a 2008 commuter rail bill that passed the House but languished in the Senate.

“We were engaged in the 2010 process, but when the chips fell we were not supportive of the solutions offered by the Transportation Investment Act. We don’t support the referendum’s restriction on MARTA, which stipulates that the organization can’t spend money on day-to-day operations,” says Kiernan. With MARTA, the nation’s ninth-largest transit system, frequently raising fares and cutting trains just to stay operational, many see the new bill’s funding restrictions as a crippling blow to the future viability of the system.

The Sierra Club believes MARTA will only become a viable transportation option when it surpasses driving. “MARTA needs to be easier, more convenient and more affordable,” says Kiernan. “MARTA ridership won’t increase until it’s less of a headache to get from point A to point B. Right now it’s hard to for someone to choose MARTA—it takes 20 minutes to catch a train during rush hour. The more we invest in the transit system, the more people will want to use it. It’s the whole chicken before the egg problem.”

Finding a Plan B

While opposition groups favor a “Plan B” approach involving smaller-scale transportation decisions, if the referendum is voted down, supporters believe the earliest a new plan could be put to a vote is 2016. “We could survey another 200,000 people and come up with another list in four years, but it won’t be radically different from the one we already have,” says Lawler. “This option is on the table right now.” Opposition groups disagree with this assessment. The Transportation Leadership Coalition says that either the region can put together another project list to bring back to the voters within two years or localities can impose their own T-SPLOST.

Questions also still remain about the best ways to alleviate the city’s traffic problems. “The best way to address traffic congestion is by offering rail, buses, bikes and pedestrian options. We don’t necessarily think that a region-wide referendum is the best way to approach the issue,” says Kiernan. “An incremental improvement such as allowing Cobb, Gwinnett and Clayton to vote on MARTA expansion in their counties is a start. We wholeheartedly reject the notion that there isn’t a ‘Plan B.’”

Where Do We Go From Here?

While the Atlanta region ponders its future, comparable referendums have already passed in competitor cities looking to siphon tourism, jobs, creative capital and business opportunities away from Atlanta. Lawler notes that similar programs have passed in Phoenix, Charlotte, Dallas and Denver, while San Diego and Seattle have been funding transportation referendums for years. With a majority of the global population taking up residence in cities, statisticians predict that tomorrow’s flagship cities will contain vibrant urban cores with walkable neighborhoods accessible by multiple forms of transit.

From the dawn of the railroad to the golden age of air travel, Atlanta has always prided itself on becoming a transportation hub of the future. On the verge of yet another population boom, the city once again finds itself at a crossroads between present and future—vacillating between what it is and what it could be.

Election Day

Regardless of whether you vote yes or no on the referendum, the important thing is that you plan to get to the polls on July 31. There are also other important races being decided that day, such as County Commission Chairman and Superior Court Judge. “The general primary historically draws about a 25 to 30 percent turnout,” says Janine Eveler, director of the Cobb County Board of Elections & Registration, who is busy training poll workers to staff Cobb’s 153 polling locations on election day. “We don’t have anything right now that tells us we’re going to have a higher turnout than normal, but we’ll see as it gets closer to the election. We encourage voters to visit our website, CobbElections.org, and check their voter registration at sos.georgia.gov/MVP, where they will find the location of their polling place as well as early voting locations and sample ballots.” Early voting runs July 9–27, and you can also send absentee ballots by mail. Forms can be downloaded from elections.cobbcountyga.gov/VoteByMail.php.

Be Informed

• Metroatlantatransportationvote.com
• Cobbdot.org
• Untieatlanta.com
• Transformmetroatlanta.com
• Georgia.sierraclub.org
• Traffictruth.net