Buying local foods

Pacific Health Foods maintains the highest standards in our vendors, featuring trusted brands known for their quality and bioactivity.

April 13, - Author: Rita Klavinski, Michigan State University Extension Soon farmers markets and roadside stands will be open and offering early spring crops such as rhubarb and asparagus.

Also, growers who have greenhouses or hoop houses can offer greens early in the growing season. After what seemed like a long, cold winter season the chance to have locally grown food available to add to meals is irresistible. Having the option to purchase locally grown food has many benefits.

Michigan State University Extension suggests the following benefits of buying locally grown food. Locally grown food is full of flavor. When grown locally, the crops are picked at their peak of ripeness versus being harvested early in order to be shipped and distributed to your local retail store.

Many times produce at local markets has been picked within 24 hours of your purchase. Eating local food is eating seasonally. Even though we wish strawberries were grown year round in Michigan, the best time to eat them is when they can be purchased directly from a local grower.

They are full of flavor and taste better than the ones available in the winter that have traveled thousands of miles and picked before they were ripe. Local food has more nutrients. Local food has a shorter time between harvest and your table, and it is less likely that the nutrient value has decreased.

Food imported from far-away states and countries is often older, has traveled and sits in distribution centers before it gets to your store. Local food supports the local economy. The money that is spent with local farmers and growers all stays close to home and is reinvested with businesses and services in your community.

Local food benefits the environment. Local foods promote a safer food supply. Food grown in distant locations has the potential for food safety issues at harvesting, washing, shipping and distribution.

Featured in MoneyWatch

Local growers can tell you how the food was grown. You can ask what practices they use to raise and harvest the crops. When you know where your food comes from and who grew it, you know a lot more about that food.

As the growing season starts and gets into full swing, you should think about how you can add more locally grown foods to your menus.

By doing so you are supporting the many benefits of locally grown food. MSU Extension has educators working across Michigan who provide community food systems educational programming and assistance.

For more information, visit http: To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http: To contact an expert in your area, visit http:Consumers’ appetite for local foods is exploding.

Overall, local foods generated $ billion in sales in , and will climb to $ billion by , according to Packaged Facts, a market. City's local foods goals and efforts.

The City of Boulder welcomes your feedback. Use our Inquire Boulder customer service tool to tell us what’s on your mind.

Buying in Bulk

The Coop Directory Service is an online source of information about natural food co-ops. Buying in bulk can save a lot of money it can also cost a lot of money. Here are 20 foods worth buying in bulk! Local food (local food movement or locavore) is a movement of people who prefer to eat foods which are grown or farmed relatively close to the places of sale and preparation..

Local food movements aim to connect food producers and food consumers in the same geographic region, in order to develop more self-reliant and resilient food networks; improve local economies; or to affect the health. We love local! And when you buy local it helps ensure a strong future for local products.

Plus, we've got a dedicated team of foragers working around the US, Canada and the UK to find the best locally grown, raised and produced items to feature at your local Whole Foods Market. How do we define.