The Savvy Shopper's Guide to: Buying Local

Howdy everybody! My last post on natural foods got a lot of views so I hope that you are enjoying my Savvy Shopper’s Guide series! Today’s post is over locally grown foods. Are you a locavore? This term applies to people who absolutely LOVE buying local foods! I know so many people who are locavores and love shopping at farmer’s markets for several reasons. Personally, I love the environment of my local farmer’s market. It makes me feel close to the actual production of the food I buy. For others it also makes them feel like the food is more natural and organic. It seems like the food could be healthier for you. It also makes you feel good about yourself for helping out your local farmers. I think that’s great! It is so important to support farmers. I want to cover a few myths about food produced locally and make sure you are being savvy shopping when you support your local farmers!

First, I want to know what buying locally means to you, so take a moment and comment below. Tell me what you like to buy and why you buy it and how far away local can be! Okay now, let’s think about what you buy. When I go to the farmer’s market I buy strawberries. Mainly because I can pick which strawberries I want and which ones I don’t. However, the strawberries at my market come from a Driscoll’s container. They’re store bought. Some people don’t notice this, but a lot of times food at farmer’s markets are store bought and then set out as if they weren’t. It is still nice that I get to pick which berries I want but I think many people really believe that everything at the market is from around the area.

As much as I want to encourage you to support small-scale farming, I do find a few faults with it. One of the biggest problems with small farming is that the farmers are having a hard time finding young people to take over the business. With nearly 70% of high schoolers enrolling in and going to college following graduation,¹ their children are going off and leaving the farm, with nobody to take over the family business. They also have increasing expenses trying to ship products (mainly meat) and getting it processed².  Yvonne Thaxton, from Meatingplace magazine, states that small-scale chicken raisers have problems getting access to vaccines sold in small amounts, therefore leaving birds more susceptible to viruses³ including bird flu. She also states that many of these producers get inaccurate information from one another and she pushes for their education. When they share misinformation, it can cause incidents. However, you don’t hear about incidents really, you only hear about outbreaks. And that scares you because it’s on a large scale. You see, only large scale outbreaks make it to the news, and so people believe that the small farms produce healthier, safer food. This is not true. Food is not safer or healthier because it is from a small-scale, local farmer.

Another problem with buying local food is how expensive it is! I can’t buy all my groceries from the farmer’s market. I would go broke! If you have read my last two posts, you know what sustainability is and means. So I do not believe small-scale farming is very sustainable. Dr. Peter Codanis says that by going local we “eat less and pay more” and that our current inexpensive foods in regular stores free up our income³. I believe large-scale farming gives us a greater advantage, especially in the money aspect. I really do love small-scale farming because it makes us feel better as a society. I just don’t think it is always practical. It is also really hard to tell where the food comes from. Some people say that local means form surrounding counties. Others say that it’s within a 400 mile radius. Some even say, “as long as it’s from the U.S.” We all have our own idea about what local means. There isn’t a firm definition, so a lot of times you can’t even guess how close the food was produced.

If you want to help support local farmers, but don’t have the money to buy at farmer’s markets or want to know exactly where you’re food is from there are other ways to shop. In Texas there is a program called Go Texan. Companies who produce food in Texas are eligible to be a part of this program. The Go Texan logo is stamped on the packaging of the food. This program really helps promote Texan produced foods and local farmers. Visit the Go Texan website to find out more. On their website you can search products and restaurants that are members of the Go Texan community. You can even find certified farmer’s markets! This program is so cool! I tried to find programs similar to Go Texan in other states and have not been successful. All states have a department of agriculture. On many state DOA websites they have a lot of information about food safety. Pennsylvania even has a program called Eat Safe PA. In your state it may be called Agriculture Industries instead of the department of agriculture. I’m not sure about how it is in different countries, so if anyone reading this from another country please let me know!

**The Agrarian's Alcove is not paid to support Go Texan or any other affiliate links**

1.       “College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2014 High School Graduates.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. April 16, 2015. Accessed Jan. 24, 2016.

2.       “Fewer Want the Tough Job Meeting Demand for Local Beef.” McFetridge, Scott. Associates Press. June 2015. Accessed Nov. 2 2015.

3.       “Here I Go Again.” Thaxton, Yvonne V. Meatingplace. November 2014. Accessed Nov. 2 2015.

4.       “Trying to Teach Big Agra in a Hotbed of Locavores.” Coclanis, Peter A. The Wall Street Journal. August 28, 2015. Accessed Nov. 2 2015.