Buying local is healthy for you and the economy
How often do we eat salads, potatoes, broccoli, corn and green beans? And how often do we use tomatoes and onions as condiments on sandwiches and burgers? If you’re like me, it’s a lot! And now that the farmers markets have begun, it’s nice to have more options when it comes to buying fresh produce. I believe several of our local grocery stores carry local produce as well. You can check with them to see which ones do.
Whether you know it or not, purchasing locally-grown food is not only healthy for you, but it can be healthier for our local economy. One study tracked how much of the money spent at a local food business stayed in the local economy, and how many times it was reinvested. The total value was almost twice the contribution of a dollar spent at a chain establishment.
Also, at a farmers’ market, most local produce has been picked inside of 24 hours. It comes to you ripe, fresh, and with its full flavor, unlike some foods that may have been picked weeks or months before. Close-to-home foods can also be bred for taste, rather than withstanding the abuse of shipping or industrial harvesting.
Many of the foods sourced locally will be the best you ever taste. It’s also nice to know exactly what you’re eating. Buying food today is complicated. What pesticides were used? Is that corn genetically modified? Was that chicken free range or did it grow up in a box? People who eat locally find it easier to get answers. Many build relationships with farmers they trust. And when in doubt, they can drive out to the farms and see for themselves.
There are five markets in our area – Uniontown, Brownsville, Masontown, Scottdale and Connellsville. Fay-Penn also supports the Greensboro market in Greene County, and there is a year-round indoor market in Waynesburg. A full schedule can be found at buylocalfayette.org. You can also contact myself or Jennifer Kooser at 724-437-7913 if you have further questions.
These particular markets take the WIC and senior citizen vouchers, but we do not provide those vouchers. Fay-Penn, however, will continue the Buy Local Bucks program this year by giving the first 15 customers that present their Buy Local card at each of the markets $5 to spend at the market that day.
I’m not a fan of the hot, summer weather, but I am a fan of eating locally grown food whenever possible. In addition to the farmers markets, there are a number of farms and farm stands where you can get locally raised beef, chicken, pork and other poultry. We are actually in the process of compiling a database of all of the places where this is available.
Lori Scott is the Sustainable Communities Specialist for Fay-Penn Economic Development Council. She can be reached at loris@faypenn.org or 724-437-7913.