#1: To Better Understand Your Food
Buying fresh, locally grown ingredients is healthier for you than using things you find in grocery stores. You know where it came from and can improve your knowledge of your food. Food from small growers is better for you, and it Is also GMO-free. If you want to learn how it was grown you can simply ask the grower.
When you buy locally, the food is less likely to be contaminated by fellow shoppers touching, or bacteria transmitted through the air. . It doesn't travel long distances to get to you. It doesn't get touched and moved as much when you buy from a local farm. You know that the farmer is the only person that's been handling it.
#2: Local Food Is Healthier
Produce has the most flavor and has its highest nutritional value right after it is harvested. The longer it takes to get the food from harvest to plate, its quality and freshness will decline, and you won't get as much nutrition and health benefits.
Fruit and vegetables in large chain stores are usually treated with preservatives to last longer. You won't be polluting your body with all of those chemicals when you buy from a small farm.
#3- You Can Enjoy Seasonal Eating
Many foods are more readily available and can cost you a lot less when they are in season. Farmers are eager to sell these goods while they are at their peak freshness. Out of season produce is picked before it's ripe to be shipped and distributed. Just change up your cooking with the changing season. You just make a meal plan based on what is available.
In Spring spinach, radishes and strawberries are in season. In Summer ingredients like berries, tomatoes, cucumber, and green beans are easy to find. Fall foods are apples, peppers, carrots, beets, potatoes, and pumpkins. Some common winter foods are kale, beets, onions, turnips, and potatoes.
#4- To Help The Environment
Large companies use excessive packaging and frills to preserve and promote their products. They genetically modify plants to grow fruits and vegetables in a certain way to increase yield or make shipping easier. Small farmers allow them to grow and produce more naturally.
Small family farms don't spew air and chemical pollution into our planet. Buying from local farms reduces costs and uses fewer resources. It reduces how many miles the food travels to get to you. When you buy from farms that are closer to your home, there is less transport, which reduces pollution and minimizes your carbon footprint.
#5- To Support The Community
When you support family farms you are supporting local small businesses. These farmers depend on selling what they grow to make an income. Selling their produce is how they live, work, and thrive. Success encourages growers to improve their growing techniques and maybe even grow even more varieties.
When you buy local, that money stays in your community and builds the economy. You can help struggling local farmers and build friendships along the way.