Slow Business : Delaney's Hundred Mile Market

Story and photographs by Emily Hartop

Billie Holiday softly plays on the radio in the local grocer. Outside, one can hear the sounds of a screen door slamming, and the distance bustle of a small community on a warm afternoon. A young Jordan Stone takes in this moment, a still frame of small town life and the simple pleasures it brings.

Fast forward to 2009: Billie Holiday is once again on the stereo, and the sounds from outside are those same sounds of community. Inside the local grocer, Jordan Stone, now with grown children of her own, tends to her store. Her life has taken her full circle. She has returned to the simple pleasures of family and food, and opened a local market here in Old Town Temecula. If you haven't yet stopped by, you don't know what you're missing!

Walking into Delaney's isn't like walking into any other market. A friendly face is there to greet you – often it is Jordan's daughter Carlie at the front counter and, sometimes, Jordan herself. You'll find fresh pastas, sauces, and soups made in-house, and large bins of produce from local farms are clearly marked with the farm's name – it's always local, always fresh. Besides produce, you'll find local raw dairy products, local meats and poultry, farm fresh eggs, and a dozen different varieties of local artisan breads. A true gourmet's paradise is found in Delaney's Hundred Mile Market – the mass produced products in the supermarket simply cannot compete with this local food that has been produced with such pride.

The bottom line is, however, this market has much more to offer than pleasures of the palate. It offers you, the consumer, an opportunity for real food responsibility. Responsibility that puts more pennies of your dollar back into the community, and less into the oil companies for shipping. In a supermarket, up to 90% of your dollar may go to oil. Shipping raw ingredients to processing, energy for processing, shipping products to the market – the average meal travels thousands of miles to arrive on our plate. By buying locally, you can keep money in our community and support a better future for your family, your community, and your planet. It's just a bonus that everything tastes so fabulous, too! And, we mustn't forget, the store carries plenty of nonfood items. Everything from notecards to lotions, from pet supplies to bath salts. Delaney's Hundred Mile Market is a one stop responsibility shop – support them today and keep our community and its producers thriving!

Now through the end of November, stop by and see Jordan and Carlie, and get a free pound of house-made fresh pasta with $25.00 purchase. Just mention this newsletter!

Store open from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM daily. Map here: 41955 5th Street, #101