Why Supporting Local Just Makes Sense: A Reader's Story
JAMES COLQUHOUN
Eating locally grown foods has many benefits for us as the consumer, the grower and also the community! Here are some reasons why we love putting our dollars into the local community:
- Locally grown food is full of flavor. When growing locally, crops are picked at their peak times versus being harvested early in order to be shipped off.
- Eating local food is also eating seasonally. This means the fruit and vegetables will be full of flavor and taste better!
- Local food has more nutrients. Local produce has a shorter time between harvest and your table, therefore, less likely that the nutrient value has decreased.
- Local food supports the local economy. Money spent locally will stay close to the farmers and be reinvested into more local produce.
- Local food helps the environment. Purchasing local helps to maintain the farms and green space within your local community.
- You will know more about the food you are consuming. You get the chance to chat with your local farmers and learn how they are growing the foods you are eating.
We love hearing when those in our community are on the same page as us, just like Tiffany Davey. Tiffany shared her story with us, and now we are sharing it with you:
Being a foodie, I firmly believe that the best ingredients come from local sources. The veg stays fresh longer, the fruits are as sweet as summer, the herbs smells are intoxicating, the eggs are golden yellow, the meats taste earthy and we can’t forget about the relationships we forge. When you have the opportunity to obtain fresh food you have the opportunity to know your farmer. You can ask them loads of questions and really get the dirt on the food you’re eating. Our farmers hold the keys to so much valuable information. I often ask questions on how to cook an ingredient or sometimes when my own kitchen garden is having a rough go of things, I ask them what I can do to fix it. I’m always answered with honesty and heart.
Living in Canada it isn’t always easy to keep it local. We have a very short growing season and lovely fruit and veg quickly turns into apples and squash. Don’t get me wrong I love root veg, however, there is only so much squash and apples one person can eat! When the farmers markets open up here in my city I jump at every opportunity to go. Planning each meal around ingredients, I know I can get there. When I’m in a new city or on a holiday you can bet that I will find a market (or three, on every day!).
Each farmer has something different with a different story to tell. These are moments you don’t want to miss. Honey taste different based on local flowers, dairy products have a different flavor from what grasses each cow is eating. The chickens are eating different bugs, and the weather is different which effects growing rates and production times. It truly is amazing to taste the difference from province to province, from city to city, and from country to country.
Our farmers need our support and by buying local you are doing just that. So many big companies are chewing up our local farmers and spitting them out. I think we are hitting a point in time where people are starting to see the benefit of buying local and more and more farmers are gaining the backing and support they need. Without us buying at farmer’s markets or direct from the farm we will for certain loose them.
We have such an amazing world with people who truly put blood sweat and tears into the food we eat. I can’t imagine living in a province or city and not digging into where the local food is. I often wished I lived in a larger place so my window for local fare was bigger, but I do what I can and support where I can. As our summer comes to a close and my kitchen garden dies off, as I watch the bumbles making a last ditch effort for nectar and as I watch my local farmers market putting up the last of season signs, I’m reminded why I buy and support local. Because nothing is as good, as local food tastes.
Do You Support Local?
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James Colquhoun is the filmmaker behind Food Matters, Hungry For Change, and Transcendence Seasons 1 & 2 and founder of Food Matters and FMTV. Along with Laurentine ten Bosch, James founded the Food Matters community following the release of the 2008 documentary, giving people the tools (films, books, articles, and guided programs) to take charge of their own health. From here, FMTV was born! It was designed as a place where you can access vital information by watching all of your favorite inspiring documentaries, expert interviews, & recipe videos in one place, and in early 2020 FMTV found it's new home on Gaia.