The Benefits of Eating Locally Grown Foods

So, what are the benefits of eating locally? Here are a few reasons to eat food grown locally:

1. Local foods are fresher. Buying local meat and produce cuts down travel time from farm to table. Did you know that fruits and vegetables begin to lose nutrients as soon as they are picked and according to the USDA, produce such as apples can be stored up to 10 months after harvest before they hit the grocery store?

2. Local foods are better for the environment. Some foods are shipped literally thousands of miles; that is a big carbon footprint that could be avoided by purchasing local and seasonal foods.

3. Local foods preserve green space and farmland. The environmental question of where your food comes from is bigger than its carbon footprint. Buying foods grown and raised closer to where you live helps maintain farmland and green space in your area.

4. Local foods promote food safety. Less distance between your food’s source and your kitchen table leaves less of a chance of contamination.

5. Local foods promote variety. Local foods create a greater variety of foods. Farmers who run CSA (community-supported agriculture) programs, sell at farmers markets, and provide food to local restaurants have the demand and the economic support for raising more types of produce and livestock.

6. Local foods support your local economy. Money spent locally stays local. Purchasing locally builds your local economy instead of handing over the earnings to a corporation in another city, state, or country. Also, since the food itself moves through less hands, more of the money you spend will end up in the pockets of those raising and growing those foods.

7. Local foods promote accountability and empowers the consumer. When food is raised locally, the consumer better understands how and where their food is being grown. They also have direct access to the grower to ask questions and get information. Try speaking with the unnamed grower of the meat you purchased at the grocery store.

8. Local foods bring the community together. Ever find yourself spending much of your time at the farmers market chatting and socializing in addition to purchasing your locally grown foods? Local farmers often develop relationships with their buyers. Additionally, local farmers often develop a close network between themselves because of a shared understanding of the highs and lows of farming. By purchasing directly from the farmer, either at farmers' markets or from the farm, it definitely builds relationships within the community.

9. Local foods improve overall well-being. A very satisfying part of buying local farm-grown food is knowing that you are contributing to your community, economy and the environment. These benefits lead to an improved sense of well being and fulfillment knowing buying locally grown foods make a difference in your community.

10. Local foods just taste better. Meat and produce raised by the people you know, your friends and neighbors, just has to taste better.