Being a passionate local foodie is a badge of honour, worn with pride. The enthusiasm
is infectious, possible of persuading even the most budget conscious shoppers to turn away from the frozen food aisle. Sourcing amazing local produce is an adventure in community spirit and has a bounty of great benefits to everyone involved.
CRISP, JUICY, FRAGRANT… FRESH!
For foodies big on flavour local produce really sells itself. When you buy local you are eliminating all the food miles of transit time that zaps the best from your produce time. We live in a massive country and the food miles are huge.
Locally grown fruit & vegetables are tastier because they don’t need to be picked early to withstand the tyranny of distance. To make matters worse, lots of produce is cold- stored long-term before it gets to us, further degrading the flavour and nutrients.
IT’S SO MUCH CHEAPER!
Visit any of our farmers’ markets right now and you’ll find the tomatoes are going crazy, there’s passionfruit everywhere and eggplant are the cheapest you will see all year. You won’t find local avos or mangoes, because they’re just not ready yet.
When you buy in season, the produce is plentiful and the prices are low. Take advantage of this bonanza! In the height of mango season you’ll get a box of mangoes for $4, and at the moment one mango costs that in the supermarkets. Look to markets and small green grocers to maximise your food dollars.
MORE KNOWLEDGE ON THE SUPPLY CHAIN
Remember when people caught Hepatitis A from imported frozen berries? Or when horse meat was discovered in beef lasagne? Not knowing a food’s provenance can certainly invoke a sense of terror when something goes wrong.
By comparison, buying local gives a strong sense of confidence of good practices. It’s important the standards used in growing, packaging and transportation are known and trackable. There’s also that warm fuzzy feeling knowing your food has a story - possibly grown by a mate of a mate who just lives in the next town.
LOCAL SUPPORT BUILDS INDUSTRY
The economic impact is the biggest benefit to the community, but it’s also the hardest to see. When you buy locally made produce, that money is much more likely to go into the community’s pockets as farmers are often small businesses and not global corporations.
So move over hipsters! Foodies with fierce local passion are on trend and popping up all over the country. Invest in your community and everyone benefits.
Nicky Jurd - Precedence
