Why buy local?

Every time you purchase food, you make a choice that’s more important than just what’s for dinner. When you buy local food, you:

Help keep farmers on the land, keep the local economy strong, and preserve our agricultural heritage
When purchasing directly from farmers, you have the chance to talk about the methods they use and the care they take to grow your food. By eliminating the middleman, more of your food dollars stay in the local economy, helping to keep these small farmers on the land and preserving the look of our rural landscape.

Help the environment
Today, food travels an average of 1,500 miles from field to plate. When you buy local, fewer fossil fuels are burned to transport your food across the country or between continents and less packaging is needed. Supporting those who use sustainable farming practices also means that the land is treated in environmentally sensitive ways, which prevents soil erosion and protects the quality of our water.

Get to taste delicious food
Buying local means you can enjoy eating with the seasons, preparing meals that showcase what’s farm fresh and harvested at its peak that same day.

When you consider how this is all connected, you realize that your food choices really do make a difference. Your decision to buy local food helps create a stronger, more sustainable regional food system. Oh—and you get to eat more nutritious and better-tasting food for dinner, too!

The Farm Fresh Atlas is brought to you by REAP Food Group, the Dane County Farmers' Market, the Friends of the Dane County Farmers' Market, and the UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems. The 2008 Southern Wisconsin Farm Fresh Atlas is generously underwritten by Heartland Credit Union.