Buying local gives you freedom of choice for your family’s health & nutrition
Knowing where your food comes from and how it is grown or raised enables you to choose fresh food from farmers whose practices you support.

Eating local foods affords us the enjoyment of foods rich in flavors and nutrients our area naturally provides.

Locally grown & produced foods are exceptionally fresh, delicious, & abundant
Local food is fresher and tastes better than food shipped long distances from other states or countries.

Buying local protects the environment
Most conventionally produced food is extremely resource intensive, traveling an average of 1,500-2,500 miles from field to plate. Local food, however, doesn’t have to travel far, thus reducing fossil fuel dependence, carbon dioxide emissions, and use of packing materials.

Buying local protects open space & farmland
Keeping local farms economically viable is critical to preserving the beautiful landscapes and rural agricultural areas surrounding towns and urban centers.

Source:Fauquier Agricultural HomeGrown Program

DID YOU KNOW?

• Virginia Loses over 23,000 acres of farmland to development every year.
• 54% of Virginia farms report a net loss of income.
• If each household in the 5-county Northern Piedmont region spent $10 per week on locally produced food and farm products, it would generate $32.9 million annual dollars of direct economic investment to our regions’ economy, farms family and communities!

SOURCE: VIRGINIA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION