A local food system is made up of many elements.  It includes the regional farmers, ranchers, fishers, and food producers as well as the restaurants, retailers, and institutions that serve food.  It also includes the end consumer of those products—you, because local food is produced for local consumption.

There are many benefits to a local food system

More Taste!

        Local food means better taste and more nutritional value.  The closer you are to your food source, the fresher and healthier that food is for you and your community.  There’s no taste like home.

Strong Agricultural Economy

        Local food means a strong local economy and the viability of local agriculture.  Local farms and food producers are crucial to a healthy and diversified economy.  While dollars spent with large corporations almost immediately leave the community, dollars spent on local food products circulate within the community eight to fifteen times, drastically improving the value of your purchase.

Less Waste and Pollution

        Local food means fewer food miles and dramatically reducing transportation, days of refrigeration, and tons of pollution and packaging.  Unlike most food in the US that travels 1500 miles and from seven to fourteen days in transport to reach your plate, local food is usually harvested within 24 hours of the time you buy it.  How fresh and healthy would you feel after a week on a truck?

Preserving Unique Character

        Local food means working farms and fishers that connect us to our land and preserve our home’s rural character.  By preserving farm land, we are guaranteeing that our rural landscape remains beautiful and productive and that future generations will have the opportunity to work in environmentally sustainable and culturally valuable industries like food production.