Buying your food and produce locally has a wide range of benefits that not only care better for the environment and reduce the impact of climate change but can also give you higher quality, more nutritious food that helps support local business, bringing a significant financial boost to the area and creating a ‘together spirit’ which is important.
Yes, it might be more convenient to get all your food from one big shop rather than a few local, independent shops, but the quality of the product will far better, as the fresher the product the more nutrients it will contain.
Food in supermarkets is mostly imported and can travel hundreds or sometimes thousands of miles before it is sold in store. ‘Food Miles’ is used to describe the distance from where food is produced to the place it is eventually sold to customers. When food is transported, fossil fuels are used so the more ‘Food Miles’ the greater the amount of carbon emissions. Buying locally can greatly reduce food miles and our dependence on fossil fuels.
So, the next time you’re planning your food shop, why not pop to your local farm shop or high street food merchant and see what they have on offer.
Supporting local producers is key and something we should all try to do a bit more.
You can find a list of Durham’s local producers and farm shops by visiting this is durham’s local produce webpage where you can pick up a taste of Durham to take home with you.
Also, you can visit the Food Durham website as they are also a good source for local information. They are working on raising awareness of the importance of food and how it relates to the economy, the environment, health and well-being, and issues of social justice.
