A hundred years ago, all food was locally sourced. There simply weren’t any other options. Mississippi’s climate was well-suited for agriculture, which made for an abundant supply of local food. We fared better than other states in that area.

Technological break-throughs in refrigeration, transportation and logistics have brought a world of food to our doorstep, in a manner of speaking.

So, while Mississippi remains one of the nation’s top agricultural states, we import 90 percent of our food supply, spending an estimated $8.5 billion each year.

While the state does have large commercial production of catfish, poultry and eggs, the vast majority of the fruits and vegetables we consume are imported.

We are, by some estimates, the hungriest, least nutritious state in the nation, a cruel irony in a state that is blessed to have all the conditions needed to produce an abundance of healthy and affordable fruits and vegetables.

There are options, though, which are most visible at our various area farmers markets. Finding local sources for our food allows us to know where our food comes from and how it is grown. Freshness is essentially guaranteed when we source our food locally.

To meet the demand for locally grown food, we are seeing entrepreneurs respond. Each year, more and more vendors arrive at farmers markets, providing an ever-growing variety of produce. There are new approaches and new products, too.

In Brooksville, mushroom farmers Pierce and Jaime Moore – featured in Wednesday’s Dispatch – have reached an agreement with other local farmers to develop a Farm to Doorstep concept, delivering to homes in Oktibbeha, Lowndes, Winston and Noxubee counties weekly or biweekly. Think of it as DoorDash for locally-produced fruits and vegetables.

In West Point, Shady Acres Farm and High Hopes Farm are one-stop shops for beef, raising and butchering grass-fed beef cattle for customers. In some ways, it’s a nod to a historic West Point company, Bryan Foods, which was the dominant supplier of pork products in the region for decades.

Sam and Isabel McLemore at Bountiful Harvest grow and source sprouts, herbs, berries, and more.

There are many, many more growers out there. You just have to start looking.

Jamison Pastures in Caledonia posted on Facebook earlier this week that this is the last week for their cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini and cherry tomatoes.

Get ‘em while they’re available; they won’t be freshly available again for another year.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

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