Why Buy Local?

Today I wanted to share with you all of the tremendous benefits to buying your food locally. There are many ways to purchase food from a local grower. You can sign up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), shop at your local Farmer's Market or check with your grocery store to see if they participate in a Buy Local program.

You'll get exceptional taste and freshness. Local food is fresher and tastes better than food shipped long distances from other states or countries. Local farmers can offer produce varieties bred for taste and freshness rather than for shipping and long shelf life.

You'll strengthen your local economy. Buying local food keeps your dollars circulating in your community.

You'll support endangered family farms. There's never been a more critical time to support your farming neighbors. With each local food purchase, you ensure that more of your money spent on food goes to the farmer.

You'll safeguard your family's health. Knowing where your food comes from and how it is grown or raised enables you to choose safe food from farmers who avoid or reduce their use of chemicals, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, or genetically modified seed in their operations. Buy food from local farmers you trust.

You'll protect the environment. Local food doesn't have to travel far. This reduces carbon dioxide emissions and packing materials. Buying local food also helps to make farming more profitable and selling farmland for development less attractive.

When you buy local food, you vote with your food dollar. This ensures that family farms in your community will continue to thrive and that healthy, flavorful, plentiful food will be available for future generations.


Source: FoodRoutes.org