50 Reasons to Eat & Grow Local Food

Reason #5 

Focusing on local food/economy means more of your dollars spent will remain in our community, and studies show that local businesses support community groups and charities more than non-locally-owned businesses.

50 Reasons to Eat & Grow Local Food

Reason #6 

Local food keeps your taxes in check.

“Farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas suburban development costs more than it generates in taxes, according to several studies. On average, for every $1 in revenue raised by residential development, governments must spend $1.17 on services, thus requiring higher taxes of all taxpayers. For each dollar of revenue raised by farm, forest, or open space, governments spend 34 cents on services.”Source: http://www.circleofresponsibility.com/page/57/why-buy-local.htm

Additionally, the benefits to people from the food, local economic benefits (money that largely stays in the community), jobs,  and carbon-sequestering green spaces provided by properly managed sustainable and organic agricultural uses of land, and the benefits multiply.

50 Reasons to Eat & Grow Local Food

Reason #7 (one week left!!)

If you grow and forage for your food, the seasons take on a new meaning: a cool, rainy autumn signifies the bounty of mushrooms and great-tasting kale! Growing and foraging gets you out there– it’s usually never as horrible as it may seem on a cloudy/rainy/blustery day. As a friend likes to say: “No bad weather, just bad clothes”. Summer is just part of the story…

50 Reasons to Eat & Grow Local Food

Reason #8

Eating locally contributes not only to the current local economy, but through buying what local farmers have to offer, we are also providing the impetus for other folks who want to work in agriculture and other local food-related activities– young people, especially — to come to Powell River and make a life here. It should be a big part of the community’s plan to diversify its economy away from mill operations. Keep this in mind when you shop, and during upcoming elections and make it a political playing point to move away from the Big Box economic model that serves us so poorly, to a more localized and sustainable one.

We’re on the tail end of Transition Town Powell River’s Local Economy blitz this weekend– let’s get into action mode. Let’s see Sustainability is an act, not (just) a conversation point.

Here’s an interesting study on how to create Buy Local campaigns for small towns: http://files.mccrayandassoc.com/downloads/shoplocal.pdf