Major challenges are confronting our food supply these days and on top of the list are climatic changes, loss of biodiversity, and higher energy prices. For these reasons, it is vital to pay attention to these factors and begin making a better choice by supporting our local organic farmers and buying local organic food products.
Besides becoming a more health-conscious consumer, buying locally grown organic veggies and fruits will give you better peace of mind knowing where your food produce is coming from and how they are grown and processed. Knowing your farmer is the first step to providing your family with healthy, nutritious, and unadulterated food.
Start by knowing the seasonal produce of your community. Local organic food consumption greatly helps in reducing the cost of food storage and transport, both for the grower and consumer. Organically grown products are also good for the environment in terms of sustainability. When farming organically, there is no need to use herbicides and pesticides; therefore, the impact on your health, environment, water supplies, and climate will be very positive. On top of that, you get to enjoy healthier food choices that are more complex and richer in flavor and nutrients.
Discovering a wide variety of organic food crops
Having the advantage of growing your own food or buying from local organic farmers and growers lets you into a wide variety of healthy farm produce. Best of all, you can get the opportunity to experiment and discover many different types of fruits and vegetables you may have never even heard of before! That’s because most large-scale commercial growers won’t go through all the trouble and intricacies involved in organic farming.
Supporting your local economy
Buying organic products from your local farmers also helps keep the money circulating just within the local community. The exchange of money will be from one local to another, whether at the hardware, farm, or store level. By keeping the money moving within the local community, there is a more significant benefit to your local organic farming industry than if you were to purchase these from national or international food chains. You also play a huge role in allowing those involved in local organic farming to make a decent living out of their efforts.
Building strong relationships
Another major advantage of buying local is that you can build strong relationships and networks with individuals and businesses in your area. Whether you are a local producer, supplier, seller, or customer, the relationships you forge go beyond just the actual buying and selling.
For instance, you may find that you have built such a solid relationship with the grower or seller that you can take some of the goods on credit or even engage in barter trade. Some communities have very solid systems in place that no one will ever go through a tough time alone.
So every time you buy from a local grower or supplier, think about the personal connections that you are able to build with each exchange. It all begins with finding out who the local organic farmers and producers are in your region. From these growers and sellers, you’ll be able to learn more about how to become a more conscientious buyer of locally grown, healthy and organic food produce. Who knows, you can eventually be able to grow your own healthy fruits and veggies as well!