PEORIA MAGAZINE May 2022

Henry conducts a garden tour

How to Find and Support Local Farmers — and Get Great Food! Local Harvest : www.localharvest.org or www.localharvest.org/peoria-il/csa Illinois Farmers Market :

ing food security while offering many social, economic, nutritional and en vironmental benefits to you and your community. Here are just a few of the far-reaching benefits of local food. It tastes better and has more nutritional value : Fruits and vegetables begin losing nutrients as soon as they are picked, and most conventional produce is picked weeks before you buy it. Because local farmers often harvest their produce just 24 hours before it reaches your table, you get maximum nutrition and great taste. It’s better for the environment : On average, food in the grocery store travels 1,500 miles from field to plate. When you buy from a local farmer, you eliminate most of those miles and the fuel and carbon footprint that goes with them. In addition, local farmers build the soil and enhance the quality of the water, air and wildlife habitat. It’s better for the local economy : Farmers get less than 10 cents for every dollar you spend on food in the grocery store. But when you buy local food, upwards of 70 cents of each dollar goes to the farmer. And thatmoney circulates in our community instead of going into corporate coffers. It pays the farmhands, the local hardware store owner, the workers at restaurants, banks andmore. In addition, growing, processing and distributing food locally creates and sustains community-based jobs. It enhances food security and food safety : Now that we’ve experienced

www.ilfma.org/find-a-market Buy Fresh Buy Local Illinois : www.ilstewards.org/buy-fresh-buy-local-illinois

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS! When you buy local food, you literally put yourmoneywhere yourmouth is. By doing so, you ensure that when the next crisis comes — and it will! — you will not only be able to continue eating great food, you’ll be enhancing relationships, strengthening your community, and creating security and stability in an otherwise unstable world. No one can predict what the next shock to the conventional food sys tem will be — whether war, weather, a virus, or something completely dif ferent. But when you know your local farmers, you know where your next meal is coming from.

what happens when national and global supply chains are disrupted by pandemics and war, we know the many points of vulnerability in the conventional food chain. Luckily, we have many local farmers who have created short, direct food chains with only one or two links between you and the farmer. In addition to food security, you have enhanced food safety, since when you buy local food, that food is easily traceable back to the source. Plus, you can easily find a farmer who does not use pesticides or other chemicals. And most farmers markets and CSA pickup locations are outdoors, where there is much less chance of viral transmission, whether COVID or old fashioned cold or flu viruses. It creates commun i t y and connection: Most local farmers encourage you to visit their farms and see what they do to bring food to your table. Many also host tours so you can see the fields, discuss growing practices, and ask questions. Local farmers don’t just grow food; they grow true relationships with you and your family.

Terra Brockman is a speaker, author and founder of The Land Connection, an educational nonprofit. She grew up in an agricultural family, which has farmed land in the Mackinaw River Valley, near Congerville, for generations.

MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 9