Why Eat Local
What is Local Food?
There are varying definitions. Some people define local food as food grown within a state, region or within a specific number of miles of your table. According to the USDA, local food is the direct or intermediated marketing of food to consumers that is produced and distributed in a limited geographic area.
Why Eat Local?
It’s Seasonal
Eating locally is eating seasonally!
Flavor
Local food is picked at or near the peak of ripeness and simply tastes better. Varieties of produce shipped in from elsewhere are often picked long before natural ripening.
Nutrition
Enzymes in fruits and vegetables begin breaking down nutrients soon after being picked. Eat your foods as fresh as possible to obtain the most nutrition. Locally grown produce also comes in more varieties. For example, you might find orange, yellow, pink, or even purple tomatoes at your local farmers’ market. Many of the pigments behind the myriad colors have been shown to improve health.
Traceable Food
When you purchase from local producers, you know exactly where your food came from. You can ask your farmer about his/her farming practices, and maybe even go see the farm for yourself. Local food experiences fewer opportunities for contamination.
Build Community
Engaging with local growers and producers creates a more vibrant community.
Support the Local Economy
Shopping local keeps more money in our community.
“10% = $1 billion. If we substituted 10% of our current at-home household food budget with locally grown and produced food, we would generate over a billion dollars of economic activity in Indiana. That’s just $458 per year per household.”
— Purdue Extension Local Food Program, 2016
Adapted from Purdue University Extension Diversified Farming and Food Systems
