There’s a movement growing across North America. More and more people are buying their produce from local sources, and many grocery stores struggle to keep up. According to a Maine-based local food procurement platform called Forager, 84% of survey respondents said they shop for locally grown food in 2018. As you can see, the growing popularity of locally sourced food is an excellent reason to start selling it in your grocery store, but there are other reasons that we’ll get into later.
First, let’s explain what locally grown food is. It’s food that is grown, harvested, distributed, and sold within a particular area. But the term “local” means lots of different things to different people, whether it be a city, county, state, or even the US as a whole. But whatever the person’s definition of “local” is, the general rule of thumb is the smaller the distance it travels from farm to plate, the better.
Health
Locally sourced food has several health benefits. It’s often pesticide-free as local farmers use organic or natural pest repellents on their crops, whereas big farms mass spray them with chemicals. It’s also preservative-free and offers better nutritional value since it’s often fresher than mass-produced fruits or vegetables. Better yet, it’s often cleaner as it passes through fewer hands on its way to your plate.
Environment
There are also environmental benefits. Buying from local sources helps promote small farmland that prevents that land from being used for more industrial reasons and increases biodiversity. This biodiversity then means more options for the consumer on what types of meat and produce to buy. There are also fewer fossil fuels used in transporting the food from the farm to your store.
Community
Finally, buying and selling local foods helps strengthen the community, both economically and socially. The money you spend procuring this food goes back to local farmers who rely on farming for their income. It can also help create jobs in the growing and distributing of the food, which will be kept local. Besides the economic benefits, it also helps strengthen the community by connecting local farmers with buyers- all through you and your store.