It is vital to support local farmers markets. It is beneficial to the consumer and the producer. Locally grown food has many benefits. Oftentimes products are sold at the local market for a similar price to that of the larger retail stores. The difference is that more profit goes to support the farmer, the one who is actually doing all of the hard work to produce the food.
One benefit of buying from a local farmers market is the freshness of the food that you buy. The products at the local farmers markets are not shipped long distances and are likely picked that day. The fresher the product, the better the nutrients. I do suggest trying to buy organically grown and GMO free products. There are many websites and much information regarding the potential negative effects of GMO corn and soy. (Organic Consumers Website) (Dr. Don Huber)
Another benefit is that locally grown food tends to have fewer preservatives than food that has been shipped to a supermarket. Having worked as a produce clerk in high school and college, I have seen firsthand that supermarket food is sprayed with preservatives. The bananas are a good example. Bananas are sprayed with something to slows down the ripening process during shipping, then treated with high levels of nitrogen to get them to soften and turn yellow once they are close to their intended market. This is not a natural process.
Interestingly enough, Dirk Benedict (the actor that played “Face” in the great 1980s television series the A-Team) has a theory about eating local foods. I attempted to research further after hearing an interview years ago on the radio. My conclusions of what he said appear to be consistent with the macrobiotic theories of traditional Chinese medicine. To find out more about the Macrobiotic Diet, click on the highlighted words. I took his interview at “face” value (LOL get the pun there?). What I heard him say is that Eskimos should not eat tropical fruits such as oranges. Why not? I am glad you asked. The reasoning is that oranges and related fruits tend to thin the blood, where as whale products (meat and fat I guess) tend to thicken the blood. Thickening the blood keeps you warm per Mr. Dirk Benedict.
So now that I have let out the fact that I am a traditional A-Team fan and digressed, I hope that you find shopping at local farmers markets to be of interest. This supports the farmers and benefits you.
If we don’t help in some way to protect our heritage, we will lose it.