Oct 22 min read

Benefits to our health eating local produce - Group Talk - Week Commencing 23rd September 2024.

Knowing the origin of the food you eat, how it was grown or raised is effortless when buying local. As you can talk to the farmer, gardener, producer directly for assurance of quality and care.

Choosing to eat food grown and harvested locally to your home; i.e. with in 100 miles radius offers you:-

Higher food quality
Increased nutrition
Financial support for the local community
Supports the environment
More likely to be organic

The majority of local grown or raised food is sold at Farmers markets, Farm Shops or in Greengrocers. The reason locally grown/raised food is deemed a higher quality as its picked within 24 hours of sale. Once harvested the product starts respiration, which results in loss of moisture and the nutrients start degrading and spoiling.

The harvested products plant cells begin to shrink and then nutrients diminish. Food harvested for supermarkets is often harvested before its ready/ripe. This allows it time to ripen while being transported reducing its chance of spoiling before arrival on to the shelf. Where as locally sourced produce is harvested in its prime when ripe and ready for eating, when its dense with nutrients.

Often food that needs transporting excessive distances is exposed to chemicals, gases and or waxes used to preserve the food for transportation.

By buying local produce means we are keeping our money funding our local economy, rather than funding corporate businesses. Supporting local producers helps provide local jobs.

The benefit of buying local to the environment is the reduction to the carbon foot print as many foods can travel thousands of miles.

Buying local can keep us in touch with the produce seasons, allowing us to experience the produce when in the most flavoursome, and in abundance, meaning cheaper at the till.

Discover your local food sources;