Eating locally grown food has many benefits.Local food has more nutrients and promotes a safer food supply

Are you a locavore, someone who puts an effort to choose locally grown or locally produced food that is in season? If so, we want to thank you for your commitment to sustainability. Eating locally grown food has lots of benefits. These benefits are not just for you but for the environment as well.

Here are 5 reasons why you should eat locally grown food:

• Local food has more nutrients

When food is grown locally they are allowed to ripen naturally and timely as opposed to food being harvested early in order to be shipped to distribution centers to get to the stores. Seasonal and locally grown food might be picked within 24 hours of your purchase making it full of flavor and tasting better. Even though we might like to have strawberries all year, it might not be as healthy and tasty as seasonally and locally grown strawberries.

• Local food promotes a safer food supply

When you purchase locally grown food it doesn’t need to travel to distribution centers and then to stores. It cuts down steps between you and your food’s source meaning that there are fewer chances of contamination. Buying imported food has the potential for food safety issues at harvesting, washing, shipping, and distribution.

• Local food supports local families and the economy

By choosing locally grown food you are supporting your own community and helping farmers in your community stay in business. When you purchase directly from the farmers, farmers are able to cut the middlemen. They are able to consider their production costs and set their own retail prices. Getting paid fairly for their products, farmers are less likely to sell farmland for development… preserving the working landscape.

• Local food increases community engagement

You are able to engage in conversation with the farmers. You and your neighbors will be able to ask farmers about their farming practices and with this knowledge, you will have insight into the seasons, the land and your food. You might even meet a new friend at your local farmer’s market.

Local food is beneficial to the environment

When you purchase locally grown food you help maintain farmland. When farms are well maintained they conserve fertile soil, protect sources and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. It even builds a habitat for local wildlife. Locally grown food travels less than imported food ultimately lessening the carbon emissions. 

When you choose to eat locally grown food you are investing in the future. You are supporting local farmers, the local landscapes, local wildlife, and local business all while eating healthier food and lowering your carbon emissions. When you go to a farmer’s market or grocery shopping instead of using plastic bags, reusable mesh produce bags.