Why Go Local?
Why not?
Fresh, locally grown foods don't just taste delicious — they are better for you, your community and your planet.

• Low Mileage from Farm to Plate. Most food travels over 1,500 miles from farm to plate while
    locally grown food typically travels 50 miles or less reducing pollution, our dependence on fossil
    fuels, and protecting the environment.

• Fresh Taste, Less Waste. Local food usually arrives in markets within 24 hours of being
    plucked from the vine or dug from the earth. So, it's unusually fresh and delicious. Fresher foods
    keep longer — reducing waste in the kitchen, and providing better value for our food dollar.

• Delicious and Nutritious Food. Because locally grown foods are so fresh, they are also more
    nutritious, containing higher levels of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that healthy bodies
    need.

• Prosperous Farmers. 91 cents of each dollar spent in conventional food markets goes to
   suppliers, processors, middlemen and marketers; while only 9 cents goes to the farmer.
   Farmers who sell direct at local farmers' markets or through CSAs keep 80-90 cents of each
   dollar. Selling locally, farmers can reduce distribution, packaging and advertising costs and offer
   us fresher, more affordable food. Prosperous farmers keep farming and operate viable
   businesses that enhance our communities and strengthen our local food supply.

• Variety: The Spice of Life. Local farmers cultivate mouth-watering varieties of delicious foods like
   Green Zebra tomatoes, Northern Spy apples, Purple Dragon carrots, Buckeye Chickens, and
   many other fruits, vegetables, and livestock bred for flavor, nutrients and suitability to our local
   climate and soils rather than uniformity and endurance to withstand a cross-country road trip.
   Biodiversity never tasted so good!

• Thriving Communities. Buying local, a greater portion of our food dollar stays home supporting
    farms and businesses that make up our local communities and our regional economy. NE
    Ohioans spend over $7 billion on food. But less than 1% comes form local farms and producers.
    Localizing just 10% of our food spending would generate over $700 million for our local economy
    and communities.