You may have seen a local farmers market sprout up on, or around, your campus. And, you’ve probably heard you should buy fruits and vegetables that are locally grown.

But why buy local when the food often costs more than fruits and vegetables shipped from across the country or overseas? Even if it is a touch more expensive, consider those extra dollars and cents well spent. Your purchase is beneficial to the environment, you and your campus!

Local Food is Good for the Environment

The average distance our food travels is 1,500 miles, mostly by air and truck. That’s a lot of fuel! Buying locally conserves energy and reduces the amount of packaging required to keep food from being damaged during transport.

Purchasing locally grown food also increases the value of the land to the farmer. This makes development less likely and preserves local wildlife that reside in the many meadows, forests and ponds found on farms.

Local Food Benefits You

In return for the extra dollars or cents you spend you receive the freshest tasting produce available. And since it’s picked just hours before it’s delivered to you, it retains more nutrients.

Buying locally also has a way of increasing our sense of well-being. It’s a great feeling knowing you’re investing in healthy food for yourself and preserving local fields of crops, meadows and rolling pastures in the process. You can’t put a price on that!

Local Food Benefits Your Campus

Go to a farmer’s market and it’s unlikely you’ll encounter grumpy people. I wish I could say the same thing about shopping at a supermarket.

An open market, under bright blue skies, brings out the best in people! It’s like our human instincts from long ago kick-in and we become more social and friendly with complete strangers. It makes food shopping more of an experience than a task and creates a stronger sense of community on campus!

Have a farmers market on your campus?
Snap a picture of what you bought at the #campusmarket and share it with me on Twitter, @CollegeRCafe!

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