Farmer’s Markets -Support Your Local Farms!
There is no better way to welcome Summer than eating some sweet corn or cutting up a juicy watermelon that you just picked out at your local farmer’s market. If you are as odd as me, then you are looking forward to picking up a jar of your favorite pickles from the farmer’s market as well!
Benefits of Farmers Markets
Environmentally Friendly
Think about the fruit and vegetables you have sitting on your counter or in your fridge right now… Now think about the location those fruit or vegetables grew. How many miles did they have to travel? Were they sourced locally, or did they have to take a plane or boat ride to get to you? Did they have to ride in a semi-truck across the country? Local farmers bring their produce and products a short distance from their farm to you. This cuts out miles of transportation that a product would have to take to get to your kitchen. When you buy items from your local farmer’s market, you are supporting this shorter journey system!
Build a Connection to Local Farmers
Usually, the ones who work on the farm and grow the food are the ones selling you the product at a farmer’s market. This gives you an opportunity to meet and connect with them as well as ask questions about the items you are purchasing! This is an opportunity to learn about the food you put on your plate and into your body each day. Thank your local farmers for all that they do because without them we would be in trouble…
Increased Nutritional Value + Connection to Food
Nutrients begin to decrease after a crop has been picked from its source of energy (i.e. its plant). Produce that you find at the store, as mentioned previously, might have been picked several days to weeks ago depending on the item. It may have taken a long trip to get to your store and each moment it spends off your plate, its nutrient contents decrease.
Keeps Your Money in the Local Economy
The money you use to pay the vendors at your farmer’s market will get reinvested into that business to improve it systems and allows them to remain in business. If you were to purchase an item in the grocery store from a larger company (I won’t name companies) then you are using your dollars to support big corporations that continue to get larger and larger. Keep more dollars in your local economies by buying, what you can, from local vendors.
Supports Small Family-Owned Farms
According to the Census of Agricultural Historical Archive, total farms in Illinois have been decreasing since 1978. The number of commercially owned farms has been increasing while the number of family-owned farms has been decreasing. Family-owned farms are important because they are often times ‘closer’ to their livestock and crops due to being smaller in size than ‘factory farms’. According to an article by Beyond Factory Farming, family farmers can treat animals and crops as needed for infections, pests and other harmful critters. Commercial or factory farming may use interventions routinely instead of as needed.