Read more to find out why you should buy local and all the benefits of buying local. There is more to buying local than just supporting a local farm including it may be better for your health!
You’ve probably seen many posts these past 6 months of people preaching “Buy Local”.
It’s been a more frequent trend since the beginning of this year for most people. I feel after what has happened to us, people are understanding how important local is.
There are many reasons as to why you should, but we will get to that. First, we’re going to talk about the recent trend. There is not a single person on this planet that has not heard of COVID-19. It has scared people to their homes, kept them away from family gatherings, and made us all wonder how the world got to this point.
But most of all it has made people start to wonder where their food actually comes from. Did you ever start to wonder that over the past 6 months?
If you have, then you’re going to figure out why it is so important that you buy local.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning I make a small commission at no cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
1. YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD IT IS COMING FROM
Imagine -You go to the regular grocery store you always go to. You walk over to the meat section and sit there picking out the cheapest price of chicken. You find one that looks good, good price, and it will work for your dinners this week. No problem, right?
That same chicken has the name of the farm where it came from, but you have probably never heard of it. You never met the farmer who raised the chicken(s) or the butcher who harvested them. You don’t know which state the chicken came from, or how long this meat has been in it’s package. You don’t know how long the chicken lived, how they lived, or what they ate. You also don’t know if the place was clean through the whole process. It may say it on the package, but can you really believe if they were actually “grass fed”?
My point? Is you know nothing about where that chicken came from. That may not bother some people, and that’s fine, but for myself, knowing exactly who harvests my meat, what their farm looks like and where it’s located, and learning everything I can about the lives of the animals find it extremely important for my family and I.
It’s better to know then to not.
2. YOU’RE SUPPORTING A SMALL BUSINESS MEANING YOU’RE SUPPORTING FAMILIES
That farm you go to get your meat from? Small Business.
That stand you buy your produce from? Small Business.
That product you bought from a link of a blog post you read? Small Business.
That bread you bought from a little in-home bakery? Small Business.
The little stand in front of their home or the table at the farmers market may not be much to you, but it is everything to that person. And just by you going and buying a jar of jam or a bar of homemade soap is supporting that person as a whole. That business worked hard to produce a product for your home, but it’s nothing else they would rather do. It is not just their everything for possibly income wise, but also what makes them the happiest.
The best part about it is that (most of the time) it’s homemade. And that brings me to my next point.
3. IT’S HANDMADE OR HOMEMADE
There ain’t nothing like unwrapping a fresh loaf of bread from the market down the street and putting that homemade jam from that nice lady’s stand on top of it. Almost every morning this is what I’m doing (but the bread and jam are from my own kitchen!) and it fills my heart with every bite. You see, when you buy local you get what you pay for and MORE. It tastes fresh and so yummy, pretty much hard to ever put down!
If you also buy things such as jewelry or quilts, you know that stuff is the best as well.
Everything seems to be made with love and hard work. There’s honestly nothing like handmade or homemade.
4. IT’S SUSTAINABLE
These days everyone is working harder to save the environment. People are doing more to limit the carbon gases in the air, and that’s awesome!
But did you know that buying local can also play a role in limiting carbon gases?
The peach that you bought from the grocery store most likely came all the way from Georgia. You live more towards the North, therefore it had to travel all that way just to get into your grocery store. Many miles, lots of gas, and a ton of emission come from that truck contributing to the carbon footprint. If you were to buy a peach from your local farmer down the street, you are limiting the all that just to get you a peach.
Your meat can also come from anywhere in the U.S.
Your produce is the same.
Another example is a wide percentage of carbon footprint comes from cows. Most small farmers only have a handful of cows (some may have more) unlike the estates (large farms) who have hundreds-thousands of cows, therefore there is less of a carbon footprint with small farms. Also, if they are local then you are not supporting meat being traveled all the way from another state such as California.
If you were to start buying local, you would be limiting those carbon gases in the air.
And did I mention it tastes a thousand times better?
5. BUYING LOCAL IS BETTER FOR HEALTH AND YOUR SOUL
Since I’ve started buying local, my life has forever changed. I’ve made many friends and seen some of the most beautiful farms. I’ve built relationships with people that will last a lifetime, and enjoy everything that we purchase.
Personally, my health has never been at a better state. I will get into my personal story another day, but I will say that I no longer wake up feeling sick.
If you want to start buying local, I will do a blog post soon on where to find local items for your home! Comment below if you would like me to do that!
I do understand that it may take a little more work to buy local, but the work is worth it and I plan to do a post on how to achieve all of that for you.
Overall, do your research for yourself and see for your own if buying local is for you. You always will need to do what is best for you and your family.
But once you go local, you will never look back.
Alexa, Church Street Homestead
