Definition: no clear definition given, but it has been common to call local foods within 150 miles of your location. According to the article “Is local food better?” a 100 mile radius is large enough to reach beyond a big city and small enough to feel truly local. Non local foods can travel 1,500 miles on average versus local foods that travel around 45 miles. In 2005 Rich Prog did a study to find the distance the ingredients for the distance of a carton of strawberry yogurt. He found that milk, sugar, and strawberries traveled a total of 2,211 miles just to get to the processing plant.
Most foods are organic but not all have to be. It supports the local economy. It cuts back the food miles and therefore carbon footprints. According to a young woman who runs a produce stand it has a quicker time to be sold so it is picked when ripe making it fresher. It is less expensive, because the major costs in shipped goods are cut out. Also it give a chance for the consumer to meet the producer and find out where the product came from and what was put into the product.
With the smaller farmers, it is harder to produce enough food to compete in the market that Schnucks and Wal-Mart have set. Also According to my expert source, it is harder to get some products processed. For example, there is only one chicken processing plant in Illinois, and it is located in Arthur. As we all know this past summer was more difficult for crops because of the weather, we had a lot of rain and a lot of insects. These are two things that small producers have a hard time dealing with. When there is such a small amount, it is hard on them to loose their products. Another con, is getting farmers who are used to farming on a large scale with different crops, to adjust to having only a small farm and the knew concepts.
Local food challenge-Bon Appetit will only cook with foods grown within a 150 mile radius of the café.
100-Mile Diet- people will participate in only eating foods within a 100 mile radius of them.
More availability- there are more farmers markets becoming available and local foods are becoming easier to find.
Community garden-on rooftops, window boxes, and many other places groups of people are growing foods in their area to help make local foods for themselves
Extension is taking part in training new farmers on how to get started and also local people on why they should eat local foods. Also there is the city produce project, where inmates are being taught how to grow plants and more information on sustainable agriculture. More information: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid62129015001?bctid=620294566001
