Local Farms, Local Food, Local Fun

America’s interest in local foods and sustainable small farms is on the rise as society becomes more aware of the benefits of local agriculture. As fuel prices rise and air quality diminishes, as green space turns into shopping centers and children lose connections to farming, people realize the value of food grown locally and the pleasure of enjoying a farm experience with their families.

We are fortunate to have grocery stores that are well stocked with fruits and vegetables. However, this year-round convenience is not without cost. Most grocery store produce comes from California, Florida and Washington. Consequently, produce travels an average of 1,300 miles in 7 to 14 days before it arrives in your local store. A large amount of fossil fuel is burned to package and transport vegetables nationally and internationally. Vegetable and fruit varieties are chosen for their shelf life and appearance, not for their taste and texture. In addition, food safety issues can shut down large corporate farms and processors thus eliminating a vegetable from store shelves nationwide for weeks.

As you and your family strive to increase fruit and vegetable intake, look for ways to buy from local farms. You may be surprised at the impact you are making.

• Quality, nutrition and flavor: Locally grown food is picked when it is ripe and travels from the farm to your fridge, maximizing flavor and nutrition.
• Local food supports local families: By shopping the local farms and farmers’ markets, you put your food dollar directly in the hands of local people. In turn, those local farmers spend money at local businesses and churches, benefiting your community.
• Farm living is the life for me: Shopping with local farmers shows you value open space, clean air and water, and rural North Carolina.
• High education value: Do the children in your life know where food comes from? Expose them to a farm. A child who picks out his own squash is more likely to eat it. Visit a farm as a family and enjoy the outdoors. Introduce your child to a farmer to help them understand personal ties.

• Foothills Fresh, a project of North Carolina Cooperative Extension in Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties, promotes local farms, local food and local fun (www.foothillsfresh.com).
• Homegrown Handmade, a project of North Carolina Cooperative Extension and the North Carolina Arts Council, highlights local art and farm culture from the foothills to the coast (www.homegrownhandmade.com).
• Handmade in America promotes the same for North Carolina’s mountains (www.handmadeinamerica.org).
• North Carolina Farm Fresh and the North Carolina General Store, sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, will direct you to farms, farmers’ markets, nurseries, agricultural goods and services in North Carolina (www.ncfarmfresh.com and www.ncagr.com/ncproducts/).