Which Foods Should You Buy Locally?

From improved health and better flavor to supporting your local community, buying and eating local foods has many benefits. Some experts recommend a fully organic and local diet, but that isn’t always realistic. However, some local foods are easy and beneficial to incorporate into your regular diet. Here’s a list of which foods you should buy locally.

Meat

Once again, one of the greatest benefits of buying local foods is that you know how they’re grown or raised. With more and more people concerned about the sustainability of the meat industry, meat from locally raised livestock is growing in popularity. Local meat is more likely to be hormone- and preservative-free, and buying it is a way of helping your local farmers continue to make a living. Buying local meat also allows you to experiment with some of the best steak and whiskey pairings available. Not only will you support your local economy, but you’ll also get to enjoy some of the best-tasting meat around with your favorite whiskey.

Tomatoes

Because tomatoes can grow pretty much everywhere, there’s usually a plethora of them at your local farmers’ market. Industry farms often coat their tomatoes with pesticides, but local growers often use other solutions to keep pests at bay. One of the greatest benefits of a farmers’ market is that you get to talk to the supplier and learn exactly what their farming methods are.

Berries

Berries are just one of the many fruits that are better when you purchase them locally. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and others are more flavorful when they’re fresh. Plus, buying fruit from your local farmers means you’ll be eating seasonally, which helps ensure you have fresher, fuller flavors.

Honey

When bees make honey, they travel from flower to flower, pollinating as they go. This means that local honey is made from local flowers—it contains local allergens in small, harmless doses. Because of this, eating local honey helps you develop an immunity to those allergens, which can make allergy season a lot less troublesome.

Eggs

Some of the most popular items on the list of which foods you should buy locally are dairy products. Farm-fresh eggs taste better and are more nutritious than their store-bought counterparts. This is because store-bought eggs aren’t as fresh and have lost some of their nutritional value.