Why to eat locally

							                            Why to eat locally?
1. Support your local Economy
Money you spend on foods grown and produced locally goes further because it helps
local farms to stay in, and grow their businesses and employ more local people.
2. Support local farmers
If you want to be sure that you are supporting farmers you need to buy locally direct
from them at farm shops, farmers’ markets, Pick-Your-Own and box schemes.
3. You can try something new
Farmers enjoy food, and they are enjoying being creative with their produce to bring
you new flavours.
4. So fresh its exciting
Buying from a Farm Shop or Farmers Market means fresh food or ry Pick-Your-Own
for an exciting way to get your food.
5. Reduce food miles
Research shows that when you choose to buy locally produced foods from a farm
shop or farmers’ market you reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions
associated with food distribution by 99.8%
6. Reduce packaging
Unnecessary food packaging accounts for a high proportion of waste in both costs
and materials. Buy direct from the farm and from farmers’ markets and you buy less
paper, cardboard and plastic.
7. Reduce food waste - not just yours but the farmer’s too
A proportion of food grown for the supermarkets is rejected because it’s the ‘wrong’
size or shape for example, or may simply not have the right colour. It’s perfectly good
food! Farmers selling local foods offer nothing but the best and will include large and
small and irregular shapes because that’s how nature does things.
8. Meet some very nice people
When you buy locally from farms and farmers’ markets you’ll meet the people who
produce your food.
9. Local foods make travelling interesting
When you go abroad, do you try to eat the local foods and doesn’t that help make a
holiday memorable? It’s the same in this country except that foods with local
character tended to disappear from view as supermarkets tidied their supply lines up
for easier management. The good news is that you can now buy locally produced
foods almost everywhere in the UK by seeking out farm shops, farmers’ markets and,
of course, Pick-Your-Own.
10. Buying direct from the farm is an education
Whether you buy at the farmers’ market or from the farm you can talk to the farmer to
ask about how the food was grown or reared - any question you like and they’ll be
delighted to answer. You can visit the farm, either as routine because it’s where the
shop is located, or for special events and open days.
11. Buying local foods direct gives you lots of choice and varieties
to try
Where can you buy bison or ostrich meat? Direct from the farm. Where can you find
cheeses made from the milk of buffalo herds in the UK? Direct from the farm.You’ll
find rare breed meats (although it seems strange, the only way to keep rare breeds
alive is to continue to farm them to produce meat) that you will not find in
supermarkets and which offer excellent flavour and texture. You’ll also find different
fruit and vegetable varieties. Strawberries are a good example. Also look out for
apples - there are hundreds of British varieties, not just one or two.
12. We have seasons for produce
It’s easy to forget that, while the British climate produces some of the most fabulous
tasting fruit and vegetables, we cannot grow them all year round. Buying direct from
the farm and farmers’ market puts you in touch with the seasons when the produce is
the best you can get.
13. Food direct from the producer is fully traceable
The farmer produces it and sells it either from his own farm shop, through a box
scheme or from the farmers’ market stall. And he (or she) can tell you all about it. The
parentage of the livestock, the breed and why they choose to rear it; the crops and
varieties and why they produce them.
14. The best ingredients and great value for money
Buying direct offers good value for money of produce made with love and care.

So give it a go! Don’t be rushed through life and take your partner and/ or
children with you. To find out where local producers are contact
transitiontown-info@transitiontownandover.org.uk. We also work on a
local food guide, which will be published soon.