Why Eat Locally?

• The local economy: Times are tough.  If you're supporting your neighbor, you are supporting your community, and you will benefit directly.  You can also see where your hard-earned money is going. 
• Taste and nutritional value: Non-local produce is in transit or cold-storage for days or weeks.  With local produce, you can truly taste the difference.  Additionally, nutritional value declines over time.  The fresher the food, the more you get from it.  This makes it worth the cost.  Why pay for produce with little to no nutritional value?
• Quality: Local fruits and veggies have longer to ripen since they don't have to spend time ripening in transit or in storage.  You'll get the highest quality possible.
• Avoid salt and preservatives: Pre-packaged and processed foods require a long shelf life, so appalling quantities of salt, preservatives, and artificial who-knows-what-that-is are added.
• Cost: Buying locally means buying what is in season.  This can also make the food cheaper.
• Variety: Eating locally, you'll get to try all sorts of unique fruits and veggies.
• Benefit the earth: Transporting non-local foods around the country and world significantly increases pollution and harms our air quality.  It also adds to our reliance on oil.  Organic does not necessarily mean environmentally friendly.  The miles required to transport organic food can create enough environmental damage to completely outweigh the benefit of buying organic.  Buying local, non-organic is usually better than buying organic food from across the country.
• Land development: Supporting local providers supports responsible land development.  Supporting those with local open spaces (farms and pastures) gives them an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped.  Help keep Vermont green and scenic!

How Can You Eat Locally?

• Farmers' markets: Look for local farmers' markets HERE.
• Small, sustainable farms: Check out www.localharvest.org.  The site lists sources of sustainably grown food in any area of the U.S.  Additionally, you can use the site to search for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), to have fresh local food delivered right to you!
• Grocery stores: See if your grocery store lists where the food is coming from.  Stores are increasingly letting you know if their fruits, veggies, dairy, eggs, and meats came from a Vermont farm.
• Restaurants: Vermont has many restaurants that offer exquisite local food.  Check out www.vermontfresh.net/search.php.  You can search for bakeries, restaurants, catering, etc. that use local food.  Some restaurants even list the farms they work with on their menus.
• Freeze/can: Though some towns now offer winter farmers' markets, it's tricky to be a localvore during the winter.  Try freezing or canning your food so you are able to eat locally year round.

 

• The drawing will be held on May 25th. 
• The winner will be notified by email or phone and announced on our website and in the June newsletter.

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(Hickok & Boardman and Denis, Ricker & Brown are members of the Hickok & Boardman Insurance Group.  Comprised of 4 separate corporations)