Your first sentence, of course, is not true, but I agree with the rest. Backyard gardeners all over the US grow tomatoes. And some areas close where they are

Your first sentence, of course, is not true, but I agree with the rest. Backyard gardeners all over the US grow tomatoes. And some areas close where they are farmed have really good market or farmers-market tomatoes. The good ones just don't transport well. Same for other fragile fruits like raspberries and strawberries. Alas, just because it says "strawberry" on the package doesn't mean it has any resemblance to the real thing.