Eating Local - How and Why - Part 2

There is an environmental and economic impact for eating local.

One way to look at the environmental impact is to measure the distance your food has traveled from farm to plate.  Most food has traveled 1,500 miles to get to your plate – with a farmer’s market or farm stand that distance is greatly reduced or eliminated.  Buying some of your food from local sources reduces the distance traveled, therefore reducing the pollution from the transportation as well as reducing the need for a significant amount of processing and packaging.

Eating local helps boost our local economy.

Only 21 cents of every dollar, when buying at large grocery store chains, go to the grower. 79 cents go to various unnecessary middlemen.  If you purchase your food directly from the farmer 100% of the money goes to the farmer.  If they are a local farmer, they will then turn around and support businesses in your community to buy their supplies for the farm causing a ripple effect.  This is one way to help boost our local economy and keep a strong community.

There are several ways to buy from local farms including farmer’s markets, farm stands and CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture).  Some restaurants are looking at ways to include locally produced ingredients in their menus - support these restaurants and support our local farmers.

One way to help the farmer’s thrive is through a CSA. In this model the consumer pays at the beginning of the season for a share of the farmer’s harvest. This provides funding to the farmer to buy seeds and supplies at the beginning of the growing season and get things started while giving the consumer a guaranteed share in the harvest each week throughout the season. Each CSA has a slightly different structure and different rules. Some of them ask their members to help around the farm. Some of them provide you with a box of what has been harvested while others let you choose from the produce that is available each week. Listings for CSA's are available through a link on my web-site to local harvest http://mariabmayer.com/buy-local

Below is a list of Farmer’s Markets and Farm Stands I received from the town of South Windsor Public Bulletin Board. Some are open now, and others will open as vegetables come into season. Support local growers and enjoy the freshest produce!

NAME

LOCATION

Corn Crib

Buckland Road, SW

Foster Family Farm

90 Foster Street, SW

Futtner’s   (SW residents)  

910 Silver Lane, E Hartford

Fraize, Thomas/Sara

861 Clark Street, SW

Jaquish, Ed/Joanna

897 Avery Street, SW

Jones, Alexander/Lynn

571 Avery Street, SW

Lickwar, Robert

419 Main Street, SW

Marouski, Ellen

1062 Pleasant Valley Road, SW

Mikkelson, Donald/Susan

676 Clark Street, SW

Pastula, Ray

905 Pleasant Valley Road, SW

Peterson

125 Burgess Road, SW

Pranckus, Albert

744 Sullivan Avenue, SW

Union School/Historical Society

771 Main Street, SW

(Sundays, thru Oct. 14)

Wodal, Barbara

374 Slater Street, SW

Looking for additional sources for local food? I have included a link on my web-site to local harvest where you can search for local food in your area.

http://mariabmayer.com/buy-local

I am a Certified Holistic Health Coach, if you would like to know more about my approach to health coaching, please visit my website www.mariabmayer.com.  You can also call or e-mail me to set up a free consultation.  HealthCoach@mariabmayer.com 860-995-7773.