Top 5 Reasons You Should Be Eating Local
You’ve probably heard the term “eating local” fairly often over the last few years, and you might be wondering if there’s really anything behind it. Is it just another food fad these millennials have come up with? What difference does it make anyways?
Well, let’s take a look. We did some research and it turns out there are actually quite a few good reasons for opting for locally-sourced food!
Here are our top 5:
- Buying local means you know exactly where your food come from.
One of the worst parts about buying food from overseas (especially if it’s packaged), is not knowing exactly where it came from, what conditions the food (or animals) were grown in, and how the food was processed and packaged. - Buying local promotes food safety.
The further away your food comes from, the more preservatives it’ll inevitably need to stay edible. In fact, the more processing steps your food has, the more opportunities it has for all kinds of contamination. Remember – prevention is better than cure!
- Buying local food supports your local economy.
Buying local keeps money in the community and increases its velocity or circulation speed. The more hands money passes through, the more people benefit from it!
“If you’re buying local and not at a chain or branch store, chances are that store is not making a huge profit,” says David Morris, Vice President of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a nonprofit economic research and development organization based in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. “That means more goes into input costs—supplies and upkeep, printing, advertising, paying employees—which puts that money right back in the community.”
In fact, the New Economics Foundation (an independent think tank) found that when people buy produce at a local grocer instead of a large chain supermarket, almost twice as much money stayed in the community. - Buying local creates community bonds.
Buying and eating locally produced food creates a better connection between producers and consumers in your area. It makes you more aware of the impact of your buying habits, and helps strengthen the identity of the community itself. You’re likely to feel much better about your purchases knowing that your money is going to the hardworking people in your community, instead of some giant corporation headquartered in some foreign country. Business are also much more likely to get involved in local events and fundraisers when they have a tight-knit community that supports them. - Local foods just taste better!
Anyone who has eaten locally-sourced produce or meat (or any kind of food) will stand behind this statement. Everything holds more freshness and flavour when it hasn’t been shipped across the world for 3 weeks. They’re also filled with much more nutrients, which will undoubtedly make your body happier.
Stawnichy’s Wants to Serve Your Community
Stawnichy’s is a family-owned Ukrainian food company with a proud Albertan heritage, and has operated in this province for over half a century. Our specialty is our world-famous Mundare Sausage, but our product list includes more than 80 uniquely prepared meat and Ukrainian food products!
Stawnichy’s works hard to maintain the values and traditions set by our founders, and believes in giving back to our community. We have supported rural jobs in the region since 1959, and will continue to do so as we move forward into the future.
We also make every effort to source all our products locally and have a proven record of sharing our gains with the community. We have a retail location in Mundare, Alberta and a deli-restaurant combination space in Edmonton, Alberta.
One of our greatest passions lies in helping teams and organizations raise money for the causes they believe in. If your team or organization is ready to get started on your most successful fundraising campaign to date, get started today:
- Create a user profile.
- Complete your Organization Profile.
- Select the products you want.
And you’re done! The best part? It’s all online.
