Eating Local

Food is a human necessity, so when we walk through the grocery store, we usually purchase the foods that we need, that we like to eat, and the foods that we enjoy. We walk down the aisles grabbing all our favourite fruits and vegetables, our favourite canned items, and packaged products. But do we ever for one second stop and think; where were those products made? Where were they produced? I know I never had, I just grabbed the things that I needed, and hit the road with something better to do then spend my time in a grocery store aisle.
However, as a summer intern at Sunshine Farms I had my eyes opened to the idea that I could be buying Fresh Local Food, and supporting my local farmers rather than buying a product that was made in China or Peru.
Now needless to say this doesn’t mean that I am going to stop buying Bananas, I live in Canada for goodness sake, and I like Bananas; so I`m not suggesting that you stop eating the food you love just because the climate you live in will not foster the growth of those foods. All I am saying is that when I walk through the grocery store in my towns on season, and pick up a vegetable that was produced in China or Peru, which I know can be produced right in my town, I might think twice before putting it in my cart.
So all I am proposing is that instead of continually going to that same grocery store, and helping those farmers in China and Peru, I ask that you join me in doing a little research. Discover who your local farmers are, what they produce, if they sell fresh from their farm, or where you can buy their products. Find out if your town has a local farmers market where you can go on a weekly basis and buy from local producers; you will probably be surprised to learn you have more farmers in your town then you thought, and that they sell fresh delicious products only a short distance from home.
Like I said, I’m not suggesting that you need to limit your diet to only eating local foods, I’m just proposing that for the products you can buy local, buy local. Not only will it help your local economy, it will put you at ease knowing where the food you put on your table came from.

~ Pickle Blogger

Sound Off! Let us know if you have changed the way you shop, and have started looking Local!