Buy Local
I confess and I’m embarrassed to say, it took me a long time to make the transition from buying all my groceries in a grocery store to buying most of my consumable products at my local farmer’s market and farm stores. But, once I made that transition of putting my grocery money in the pocket of my local farmer and not in some behemoth chain store shipping my “stuff” in from who knows where, well I’ve never looked back.
It really is an emotional decision for me, and then it’s a health decision. I want to see family farms thriving again in our country and all over the world for that matter. I love my farmers because they work so hard to feed/nourish my family and community. Really, anyone who is growing and raising my delicious, real food has my utmost respect and devotion.
We can make a difference in our community in the biggest, but in reality, smallest way by buying as much locally as we can.
There is some crazy quote out there that if each family invests just $10 a week in our local farms then we’ll create millions of dollars for them to grow their business so that everyone can benefit from fresh, local food and as a result the farmers can make a fair wage for their hard labor. There’s a concept. Hard work doesn’t even begin to describe the lifestyle of a farmer.
Even though I’m not a farmer, I’ve been to many farming meetings and conferences just to get out of my convenience bubble and try to understand just what all goes into having a farm as a business. I get exhausted just listening to a farmer talk about what he/she does in a typical day. So please make it a point to visit a farm near you and take your children so they can see how “food is made.” Go to your local farmer’s market and ask questions about how they grow and raise your food because they’d love to have the chance to tell you about all that goes into it.
Here are my top reasons for buying local:
- Fresher foods that just taste better and are better for me and my family.
- Getting to know my farmer and as a result, where my food comes from, how it’s grown and how the farm animals are treated and what they’re fed.
- Supporting my local farmer in any way so we can all build up a strong local food supply…they can’t do it without us.
So get out there and buy one food item locally every week until you can’t stand not having more of the “good stuff” and then you’ll buy more. Show your children where their food comes from and introduce them to Farmer John. Before long you’ll know all the people at the market who grow your food and you’ll fall in love with them for it! You’ll see.
Online resources for finding local farms and farmer's markets