Sustainable Eating: Why and How to Buy Local
 STOP! Before you take another bite, you might want to consider that
your food choices have a much bigger impact than you could ever imagine.
Food choices CAN make a difference! Eating food grown locally can help
to preserve our remaining family farms and our rural landscape. Eating
food grown locally means that food dollars stay in the local economy,
that the food we eat is fresher, more nutritious, that we are caring
for our environment, and that we’re thinking of our future and
our children’s futures!
But how do you know if the food is locally grown? If you purchase your
food from a local farmer or a tailgate
market farmer listed in this guide
or through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), then you can be sure
that you are supporting local agriculture. Eating seasonally as much
as possible will help to ensure that you are eating food that is locally
grown. Ask the vendor/farmer where the food comes from. Get to know the
farmers in your area. Actually knowing the person who grows your food
is a powerful way to take control of the quality and character of the
food you consume. There are many opportunities to support local communities
and eat fresh healthy food across the region by buying local.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a direct connection between
the farmers and the consumers. To join a CSA is to buy a share of the
season’s harvest. The farmer gains the security of knowing he or
she has been paid for a portion of the harvest and the farmer’s “community” participates
in how and where their food is grown.
Tailgate Markets - There are nearly three dozen tailgate markets throughout
western North Carolina. Each market is unique in that it reflects the
desires of the local community and the farming conditions of the area.
They all provide a direct connection between the farmer and the consumer
and have the freshest, healthiest food available.
U-Pick Farms - Our region is blessed with many U-Pick farms. Apple
orchards thrive in the mountains and are great fall fun for the whole family.
There are also many berry farms growing strawberries, blueberries, blackberries,
raspberries and more with fresh fruit available throughout the season.
Local Food Campaign Partners (restaurants, grocers, B&B’s,
bakers and caterers) - Our area has some of the finest restaurants and
food establishments anywhere. Great cooks know that the best food is
made with the freshest ingredients. The freshest ingredients, of course,
are local. Ask for locally grown wherever you buy food. If a restaurant
or store says they sell local, ask them where it came from and thank
them for supporting local farms and serving only the freshest foods.
Ask that they carry even more locally grown. Support from the consumer
is often the most important factor for change. In western North Carolina,
you can seek out “Local Food Campaign Partners” (listed in
this guide). These businesses have partnered with local farmers and the
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture
Project (ASAP) and have agreed to
increase purchases of local sustainably grown food and to feature locally
grown food. They have made the special effort to connect with local farms
and to serve the freshest and healthiest food available. Enjoy!
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