Eat Locally
- Wait for the right season to eat things that can be grown here. Eat lots, freeze and preserve some for later. Grocery store strawberries in the middle of winter are most often disappointing anyway.
- Buy direct from the farmer at their own farm store or at a farmer’s market. At the farmer’s market be sure to ask the vendor “Where was this grown?” You may discover it’s not always from your local area and they are merely re-selling.
- Buy from independent grocery stores that buy direct from farmers. Look at the labels and signs.
- Buy from large grocery stores that carry local products. These may be from larger companies that process local foods, such as pastas, condiments, etc.
- Be loyal. Tell your family, friends, neighbours and unsuspecting strangers about the joys of local food.
- Support independent restaurants that buy local products for their menus.
- Grow something for yourself; a herb basket, tomato plant or a small garden.
Why eat locally ?
- Learn about food: You’ll know about your food because you’ll know the farms, the farmers and the way it was grown or produced. Farmers also have tons of great ideas of how to use their products and dishes to try. Check out farm websites.
- Taste the difference: Varieties and processes are chosen by farmers for flavour, not portability. Local foods are from here. Berries are picked here, animals are raised here, bees make honey from the flowers here. It tastes like home.
- Improve your health: Berries, bee products and lean meats have amazing health benefits. Nutrients, vitamins and minerals are more accessible to our bodies in food form rather than in pill form. The fresher and higher quality the better. High quality and safety: We go above and beyond minimum standards and inspections with all of our products. You can ask the vet, the grower and the beekeeper the questions yourself.
- Celebrate the seasons: Know when the buffalo calves are born, honey harvest begins and the berries are ready. Spring, summer, fall and winter all have their signature foods and dishes that makes things special at that time of year.
- Adventure: New tastes, new dishes, new places. Take a road you’ve never driven, see things you’ve never seen. It’s right in your backyard.
- Rural Landscapes: Our farms are very close to urban centres. When you support our farms you are helping us to maintain rural landscapes, wildlife habitat and green spaces.
- Reduce Greenhouse Gases: Did you know? Food that is produced close to home creates 14 times less greenhouse gases than food that is transported from far away. As for driving to our farms- make a day trip of it, plan your route, bring some friends and stock up!
- Fuel the local economy: When you buy directly from the farm 100% of the money goes to the farmer. We employ local people at fair wages, buy within our communities, and support other local businesses. Each time you spend money at a local farm it circulates at least five times in our community.
- Help preserve the family farm. Who wants faceless multinational corporations in charge of our food?
End Note: It’s not about price. Cheap food from “away” has hidden costs. The loss of flavour, freshness, nutrition and quality are there for us to see and taste. The hidden costs to society are the disappearance of the family farm, underpaid labourers, massive corporate farms and pavement covered farmland. Costs to the earth through global warming, erosion, overuse of chemicals, irresponsible use of water, and loss of biodiversity are adding up. Do what you can to prevent it.
