Local Harvest is Your Best Resource for Locally-Grown Foods

As gas costs continue to rise, consumers are looking for ways to save money. Growing your own food has always been economical, but time consuming. Farmers Markets are convenient but haven't always been economical. Times are changing, though. Higher gas costs are being passed on from farmers to grocers, who then pass those costs on to consumers. Farmers Markets remove that middle man, the grocer. Plus, farmers are traveling much less to sell their produce, and therefore can offer better deals to their consumers. This is a win-win for everyone. Consumers get locally-grown produce that is both healthier for them and the environment. Less transportation of our food means that less oil and gas are being used, and fewer pollutants are being transmitted into the air.

Local Harvest, created by Guillermo Payet in 1998, maintains a public nationwide directory of small farms, farmers markets, and other local food sources. Their easy to use search engine helps consumers find products from family farms, local sources of sustainably grown food, and encourages them to establish direct contact with small farms in their local area. Local Harvest's online store helps small farms develop markets for some of their products beyond their local area. Consumers can access all this information at www.localharvest.org.

In addition to local Farmers Markets, consumers can locate Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) sites near their homes. CSA's are a great option for those who want locally-grown produce, but cannot visit farmers markets or grow their own food at home. A CSA is a farm that procures subscriptions from consumers for a growing season. Consumers pay upfront for the season and are guaranteed a portion of the harvest on a regular basis. Some CSA's will even deliver your food to you. This is an especially convenient way to ensure you are eating locally-grown food, and requires very minimal effort on your part.

Of course, growing your own food removes all transportation-related issues. Even the smallest garden can produce enough food to supplement your family's meals. Why buy lettuce from California when you can go out back and pick some of your own? I guarantee your lettuce will taste better and you will know exactly what kinds of chemicals or people might have come in contact with your food. Local Harvest can help you find seeds and resources to start your garden today.

Local Harvest has grown to over 9,000 members, and processes about 1.5 million hits per month at their website. I believe those numbers will continue to rise rapidly. One year from now, Local Harvest will still be the number one resource for consumers interested in locally-grown food.

As gas costs continue to rise, and food prices along with it, I predict that more and more consumers will opt to purchase their food locally, or even begin to grow their own. Local farmers win, consumers win and the environment wins - a perfect trifecta!