In this blog post I would like to address the simple question “why local?”. We all hear such phrases as “support local”, “buy local”, and “local is better”, and perhaps everyone instinctively understands and agrees with the sentiment, but have we really thought through why and how local is better.
I have a bias in this for sure (you are reading this on our business’s website), but it’s not because I am a scrooge hoarding wealth, my bias comes from ingesting many good books and documentaries that address this idea of locality, and through my lived experiences working with farmers over the years. And to that end not only do I think that it’s okay to have a bias (or strong preference grounded in reality) on this topic but we should also know why it is that you do or do not prefer local. Food that is, I’m mostly talking about food, but many of these rationales apply to all goods sold in the marketplace, perishable or otherwise.
[Peter Hatfield and Steve Inzalaco from Shady Grove Farm gabbing it up hard]
Here are the main reasons I came up with for “why local”, in no particular order:
Numero uno – local means higher quality food. A farm that is further away takes longer for the food to get to you and therefore has to be picked earlier before it ripens and starts to rot. The closer a farm is to you the more time prior to ripening the food needs to be harvested (in the case of fruits and vegetables). This freshness cannot be understated as there is significant nutritional value that’s packed into the fruit/veggie near the end of its growth and maturity when it’s allowed to ripen “on the vine” instead of in a shipping container on a cargo ship or in a warehouse. The same goes for the quality and freshness of other food products such as dairy, eggs, and meat. The shorter the supply chain the quicker it gets to you, meaning increased freshness and quality, translating to more “delicious and nutritious” as Joel Salatin would put it.
Numero dos – local means you have the ability to meet your farmer. What a concept! This matters so much more than you may initially think. It does take some effort of course, but not that much since they are local to you. This could look like visiting their booth at one of the many farmers markets in our area, reaching out to them directly to coordinate a time for you to come visit them and their farm, or by saying “YES!” to one of the many Gathered Harvest events such as farm tours, volunteer days, or appreciation potlucks (I think that’s what we’ll start calling our annual summer “Farm Dinner”). Just the simple act of meeting your farmer inherently adds tremendous value and confidence in your food “supply chain” (if you want to call it that). You get to see their heart behind what they do, really get to know the land/people/animals/operation in such a way that can’t be replicated, and best of all you get to commune with the person that feeds your family which is both informative but best of all feeds the soul. You may think I’m over spiritualizing it, and maybe I am, but I don’t think so (if you know you know!). Last thing I’ll say on this point is that if your “farmer” is a large corporation a thousand miles away that aggregates from contracted outfits, there’s just no way you can do this. But if you were to try to meet your large, multinational corporate “farmer”, I guarantee it will be an enlightening attempt!
[one of the many farmers markets in our area, and a great place to support local farms]
Numero tres – the economics of buying local supports small sustainable businesses. This might be a little harder for me to explain. Let’s try on an example, think about all of the effort, time, energy, and expenses that go into getting a pound of ground beef from Brazil into your fridge. It’s astronomical! I mean Brazil is 6,000 miles away! Then think about how “cheap” that may appear to you in the form of a purchase price compared to a pound of ground beef we sell from Windy River Livestock in Washougal (5 miles away) or Charis Way in Trout Lake (75 miles away). Often the price comparison is staggering and while we sympathize with our customers, we know the true value and hope to communicate well that value – you get what you pay for! Returning to the beef from Brazil (for example), there’s also the fuel, cold storage, warehousing, and labor involved. These massive ranches and packers are far from the proverbial “little guy”, I mean these are very large, dare I say, faceless groups, but after the looong journey to your doorstep how much of the purchase price do you think is actually going to the person raising the cow you ate? (or in that case the many bits of cows they aggregated from). My point is that when you buy local food a much HUGER (yes I just used that made up word) portion goes to YOUR farmer. And I know everyone can get behind that, helping feed the family of the farmer you shook hands with.
These are just a few of the main reasons why local is better. Others include: building community, health benefits of eating food that was grown in your area (think healthy, unique ecosystems), and more environmentally friendly (I try to avoid buzz words like that but in this case it just fits – try ecologically responsible if you need a replacement) traveling a shorter distance meaning less energy consumption, less pollution, and less waste. I’m trying to keep these blog posts around a thousand words so they don’t drone on and disinterest people AND so they are more manageable for me to write. I’ll let Wendell Berry summarize for me, “The locally produced food supply is the most secure, freshest, and the easiest for local consumers to know about and to influence.” Thanks, Wendell.
[Jesse Pearson with Mountain Laurel Jerseys showing a group around their beautiful farm]
Gathered Harvest’s tagline has not changed since we started in 2020 and remains “Real Food. Real Local. Delivered.”. And that’s because these attributes are a part of our core values, they matter greatly to us and they likely do to you.
If this was helpful, interesting, or thought provoking let me know by leaving a comment. That’s also a great way to let us know what you’d like me to cover in future blog posts.
Thank you all for supporting Gathered Harvest in some form or fashion over the years. We appreciate each of our loyal patrons (and those in the making!).
Farewell, until next time!
~Peter Hatfield
P.S. If you’ve made it this far and it’s not already abundantly obvious… AI was not, and will not be used, to create or edit these blog posts :)