There are so many benefits to ‘buying local” that I’m trying to make a conscious effort to buy local whenever possible. I believe it is good for health, family, community, and the planet.
We try to frequent the local farmer’s markets in our area (we have a wide-selection in San Diego county). We started going years ago because we lived near one and I loved picking bouquets of fresh flowers each week. Now that we have kids, we go for a lot of our fresh grocery goods, including organic fruit, fish, and vegetables, and the best-in-the-world homemade goods, including jellies and jams, honey, humus, pita bread, bread, and pies. And of course, we still go for the fresh flowers!
Buying local has big global impact too. By visiting your local farmer’s markets (or grocers who sell fresh local goods) you help to reduce our dependence on oil - and each of us needs to start looking at ways that we can personally help to reduce the country’s dependence on oil); according to Sustainable Table, the average grocers food travels 1500 miles between the farm where it originated and your refrigerator. Whew! That’s a lot of fuel. Buy local reduces these “food miles” and supports local businesses in your communities.
I would like to suggest that visiting the farmer’s markets is good for your soul too. Beyond all the health benefits of buying fresh (and often certified organic) food, the trip provides valuable family time. Our kids love it - they pick the jam, honey, fruit, vegetables, and flowers each week.
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10:29 pm on June 7th, 2008
[...] I previously posted, buying local significantly reduces “food miles”. This means less fuel consumption = [...]