Buying locally & sustainably grown food is good for YOU.

Food tastes better and is more nutritious when it’s fresh. 
Foods grown using organic farming practices come to 
your table with no harmful pesticides.  And in these times, when obesity and diet related illnesses are on the rise, replacing heavily processed foods with whole fresh produce will improve your health.

Buying locally & sustainably grown food is good for our COMMUNITY. 

Keeping our local farmers and producers in business supports our local economy.  Dollars spent close to home tend to stay close to home.  Our local producers understand our community and work to provide nutritious affordable food for all our citizens.  The more we feel connected to the people who produce what we eat, the better we preserve our regional food heritage.  Rural and urban-- we're all connected.

Buying locally & sustainably food is good for FARMERS

The current national food system is dominated by very few large corporations which are forcing farmers to  accept lower prices, grow only "travel-tolerant" varieties, grow bigger, use more chemical inputs, or leave the farm altogether.  When farmers sell directly to their neighbors, fewer middlemen cut into their profits.  Farmers can afford to stay on their land producing an abundance and variety of food while being good stewards of the land.

                     
Buying locally & sustainably food is good for the ENVIRONMENT.

Most of the food we eat travels an average of 1,500 miles from the farm to our table.  By reducing the travel distance our food takes, we save energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions that likely contribute to global warming.  By buying whole local foods, we also reduce packaging, further saving energy and resources. And sustainable farming practices protect the quality of our water and soil, while preserving green space for healthy native habitats.

What are some ways to ensure a healthy, just, 
and both environmentally and economically sustainable food system for you and your family?

Here's a great list from Farm Aid.  Go to their site for specific tips and resources.

1. Know Your Food
Ask questions to learn about how and where your food was produced.

2. Be an Active Food Shopper
Tell your local grocer and restaurants that you want them to source their food from family farmers - and support those that do!

3. Ensure That Your Food Dollars Support Family Farmers
Buy from family farmers directly and look for family-farm identified food at the grocery store.  

4. Get to Know a Family Farmer
Plan a family visit to a nearby farm to learn more about how food is produced.

5. Teach Children How to Grow Food
Plant a vegetable garden with children and help them plan and prepare a meal.

6. Bring Food and Farm Issues to Your Community 
Organize a neighborhood gathering and invite a family farmer to discuss the benefits of local, sustainable food production. 

7. Strengthen Local Support for Farmers
Ask your office cafeteria, public schools, colleges, hospitals, and nursing homes to buy from local farmers.

8. Get Involved in Grassroots Efforts
Form or join a citizens' group [like REAP!] that opposes industrial agriculture and works to strengthen family farm agriculture.

9. Demand Democracy in Our Food System
Your voice counts! Hold elected leaders accountable to your demands for safe and healthful food. Stop agribusiness from determining our farm and food policies.