Eating Local is good for the farmer

Being a farmer is a hard business. Modern farmers have found that they can make their businesses work by selling high quality produce and livestock directly to consumers through farmer’s markets, Community Supported Agriculture programs, and Farm to Chef sales. Cutting out the middleman means more profit for the farmers, which allows them to continue raising the variety of animals and crops that make their farms unique.

Eating Local is good for the chef

Every day a New York City chef comes in to work knowing she has the skills to make a four star meal; what she doesn’t know is whether or not she’s going to have the four star raw materials. Buying directly from local farms gives the chef control over her product and allows her to plan her dishes around what is fresh and seasonal. It also lets the chef and the farmer collaborate. Farmer has a lot of tomatoes? Fresh gazpacho for the restaurant! Chef wants ramps next spring? The farmer can plant them in droves.

Eating Local is good for you

Local food tastes better. There is no way around it. So much of American food has been bred for travel instead of taste (tried a supermarket tomato lately?). Local food doesn’t have to be invincible, so the farmers can focus on growing the best tasting vegetables and livestock. Eating local means you can eat heirloom varieties that haven’t been tasted in generations because the big chain grocery stores wouldn’t buy them. You can eat beef without guilt, knowing that naturally lean grass fed beef tastes amazing and won’t harm your heart. Best of all, eating local means that what you eat changes all year long. You get asparagus at its snappy-est, strawberries at their sweetest, corn at its crispest, and potatoes at their earthiest.