If you’re used to going to the grocery store, you may feel some initial resistance to buying some of your food from a local farm. Why should you break from your normal routine to buy local food?
Supporting local farms offers so many benefits. Here are five reasons why you should consider adding local food to your budget.
#1) You’ll eat healthier.
Fewer pesticides. More vitamin-rich and bioavailable foods. Grocery food goes through a lot before it gets to the store, and the process often strips that food of a lot of what makes various foods so beneficial.
See also: What are the Benefits of Grass Fed Beef?
And: What is the Difference Between Store Beef and Farm Beef
#2) You’ll enjoy tastier foods.
Our cows don’t take huge doses of hormones or antibiotics. They are also fed a diet that is natural, supporting their overall health. Healthier, happier cows make better, tastier meat.
In more general terms, almost any food you buy from a farm is fresher and handled with far more care. It doesn’t travel as far, reducing the chances that you might end up with a batch of expired or contaminated food.
#3) Your conscience can rest easy.
If you care about the environment, then you can rest easier when you choose local foods. Most local farmers use sustainable practices, and getting the product into the hands of consumers takes far fewer resources in terms of gas and logistics.
Of course, environmental stewardship isn’t the only reason you might care about how your food is produced. At our farm, we treat the animals humanely, ensuring they have happy, stress-free lives before they ultimately end up on our table.
Few people want to be cruel. They merely respond to the options available to them. If you have the ability to choose a kinder option, why wouldn’t you?
#4) You support the local economy.
By supporting local farmers and local businesses, you keep money in the community. Those farmers go on to spend money in the neighborhood, which means more jobs, more opportunities, and a stronger community for everyone.
Some of that money may ultimately slip out to larger corporations, but the more you can keep at home, the better.
#5) You increase food security.
We can’t depend on big factory and big corporate food sources alone. Food systems are at their strongest when they are diversified.
Remember Covid, when everyone seemed to be out of everything? This is, in part, because our nation operates on a “just in time” shipping and delivery system. If no trucks run, every grocery store runs out of food in three days.
Building a relationship with local farmers and buying from them ensures you’ll have other options for sourcing food if you need them.
Buy Beef, Milk, Cheese, Soap, and Honey from Blessings Ranch
Ready to experience the local farming difference for yourself?
Visit our farm to enjoy grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chickens, farm-fresh eggs, raw local honey, and dairy products freshly sourced from Stryk Jersey Farm.