Top 5 Reasons to Shop Local
We can always use a friendly reminder that the earth is our home, and we should do everything we can to treat it as best we can. Below are 10 simple easy tips that you and your family can follow to help make the earth a healthier place.
There are endless benefits to shopping local. Here’s our top 5!
Get Fresh: Local food travels less distance (leaving a smaller carbon footprint), and is typically picked within the last 24 hours. That means crisper and fresher than the produce picked three weeks earlier and shipped across the globe. Supermarkets typically select for durability and long shelf life rather than flavor. Eggs and animal protein follow the same rules. You’ll often find eggs at your local farmers’ market hatched that same morning!
Tis’ the Season: Years ago, supermarkets were few and far between and people would only eat what they grew. Nowadays, supermarkets carry every fruit and vegetable imaginable even if the season has passed and it’s not natural for that region. There is great fulfillment and a lot of health research on the benefits of eating in tune with the season.
Cultivate Relationships: By cutting out the middleman and buying directly from local farmers, you establish a direct relationship with your food source. Knowing where your food comes from is important.
Getting Deep: Supermarket produce is shallow. It is selected based on ‘prettiness’. Your local farm favors the often ‘not so pretty’ varieties because they possess superior flavor and pack more nutrients. The farmers’ market is the perfect place to find the produce grown for taste and not for show. Spend your money on flavor not looks.
Support Your Neighbors: Shopping local keeps dollars within the community, thereby bolstering the local economy and strengthening your own neighborhood.