Eating Local is About More than Health

Fast food is relatively inexpensive, convenient and something that millions of Americans spend nearly $100 billion on every year, according to a report from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

But the problem with fast food is it’s incredibly unhealthy, both for one’s mind and the national economy, said Nirit Yadin, the Farm-to-Kitchen coordinator for the Terra Momo Restaurant Group.

With three restaurants in Princeton and one in Kingston, Terra Momo uses a variety of fresh ingredients from area family-owned farms. Yadin, who works at Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrence Township, is also a co-leader at Slow Food of Central Jersey, an organization dedicated to developing relationships between locally grown, clean, sustainable and economically fair foods.

In Princeton, Terra Momo operates , Teresa Cafe and . In Kingston, the group runs Eno Terra.

Today (Thursday, Nov. 3) Yadin will give a presentation from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the East Brunswick Public Library on the economic, environmental and nutritional benefits of purchasing locally grown food. The presentation is sponsored by the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission.

Many Americans purchase food from supermarkets and other non-local stores because the food is easily obtainable and relatively inexpensive, Yadin said. However, just because you’re trying to buy locally grown food doesn’t mean it has to be too expensive.

“If you purchase local food, you have to spend more time and money,” she said, admitting that making the extra effort can sometimes be difficult, “So a lot of my presentation is also about how to (purchase local food) without feeling you’re breaking the bank.”

Many things people eat and the reasons they eat them have to do with the economic and environmental crises that the country is facing, said Yadin.

“The numbers of people who get sick these days from the food is quite amazing. Industrialized food is one of the greatest pollutants,” she said, noting that beef production is a main culprit.

Yadin will discuss how locally-grown food is healthier for the people who consume it, and healthier for the environment.

“When your (food) source is right next to home, like in your garden, you go outside, get your food, and you don’t waste any fuel on it or any other resources,” she said.

Yadin will also discuss how buying food locally fosters a relationship not only with local farmers and their community, but also within the community itself.

“Local food production almost inevitably creates communities,” she said. “Without it, there’s little or no social structure or support, but this creates community, which is something completely absent from (other non-localized supermarkets).”

Many local farmers suffer now following natural disasters like Hurricane Irene, which devastated the East Coast in late August, but would suffer less if their communities offered more support, she said.

Yadin will allow the audience to sample locally- produced cheese from Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrence, along with locally-made bread and possibly other locally-made treats.

“As you know, if you eat close to home, it’s better than if you get it somewhere else,” she said with a laugh. “On the farm where I work, we are 10 people. And basically, if you go there and you look to the right, you see cows, and if you look to the left, you see the creamery where the cheese is made.”