Why You Should Buy Local Food

Healthier

Food grown locally was probably picked within the last day or two. It’s crisp, sweet and loaded with flavor. Locally grown food, purchased soon after harvest, retains its nutrients. Local food is not genetically modified food. Local farmers do not have access to genetically modified seed, and most farmers would not use genetically modified seed if they could. You can feel good knowing when you buy local food it is produced the old fashioned way as nature intended.

Helps Your Neighbor

Fewer than one million Americans now say farming is their primary occupation. The reason why is because commodity prices are at historic lows, often below production costs. Farmers now get less than 10 cents of the retail food dollar. When consumers buy direct from local farmers, this cuts out the middleman and farmers get full retail price for their food, which means farm families can afford to stay on the farm, doing the work they love.

Builds Your Community

Buying direct from the farmer, you help preserve time honored connection between the eater and the grower. Knowing the farmer educates you on the seasons, the weather, and the miracle of raising food. You can also gain access to a farm where your children and grandchildren can learn about nature and agriculture. You are also helping preserve open space because when you buy locally grown food, selling farmland for development becomes less likely. Buying local food helps keep your taxes in check, because farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas urban development cost more than it generates in taxes. When you buy local food you help support a clean environment, because a well-managed farm is a place where natural resources such as fertile soil and clean water are valued. Farmers who practice good conservation tillage could sequester 12 – 14% of the carbon emitted by vehicles and industry.

Long-Term Benefits

When you support local farmers, you are helping to see that there will be farms in your community for years to come, producing nutritious, flavorful, and abundant food.