Why Buy Local

By 9AM on a recent Saturday morning, Jeremy Barker-Plotkin’s tent is over-crowded at the Amherst Farmers’ Market, set on a parking lot in Amherst Common. On this particularly chilly autumn morning, all kind of vendors are setting up shop in the slowly rising fall sun. The air smells like drying leaves and fresh dirt caked all over the day’s crop. Quiet chatter fills the air as customers wake-up in the chill and barter with farmers over the price of potatoes if you buy six at a time instead of four.

Some bring their own baskets to fill with fresh tomatoes, onions, potatoes or peppers. Others stop buy just to grab an apple to munch on with their morning pick-me-up. Regardless of whether they’re here to fill their bags or their stomachs, these people are buying local.

All across Massachusetts, farmers’ markets are becoming a more popular way for residents to get their groceries. The number of farmers’ markets selling vegetables and fruit has risen from Barnstable to Worcester County. According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture National Agriculture Statistics Services, profits have also risen since 2002.

“Massachusetts now ranks second in direct sales. That means farmers here are second in the nation selling directly to consumers. The buy local movement has really blossomed through farmers markets,” said Mary Jordan, director of agricultural development for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.“

Barker-Plotkin is the owner of Simple Gifts Farm in Amherst, Mass.

"There are a lot of reasons to buy local,” said Barker-Plotkin. “It helps support the local economy, keeps farmland open and viable so they still exist, the freshness and nutrition of the product, the higher quality and the environmental impact.”

This usually amounts to $25,356 per farm according to the MDAR.

The number of Massachusetts farms has increased from 6,075 in 2002 to 7,691 in 2007, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Because of this increase, direct sales from local farms have increased too, from $31 million to $42 million. Farmers’ Markets have played a large role in helping farmers sell their produce and get their name out to the public.

Simple Gifts Farm is one of the 10 vendors at the market this morning. Because the farm is also located in Amherst, the product is always fresh.

“We don’t have to ship our produce so we can pick something like tomatoes at a riper stage,” Barker-Plotkin said. And people who frequent the farmers’ market appreciate the freshness.

“The food tastes better. I like to eat food that comes from where I’m from,” said Wendy Woodson of Amherst, who shops here every week.

Farmers’ Markets are getting a lot of local support. The Deerfield-based, Community Involved in Sustaining Local Agriculture, CISA, promotes the buy-local movement by making it more consumer-friendly.

CISA’s program “Local Hero” helps consumers identify the businesses that sell local produce. The program, which started in 1995, strives to make buying local more comprehensive for communities. This year, 185 farms, 35 restaurants, 30 grocery stores, six landscaping/garden centers, six specialty producers and 11 institutions are participating in the program.

“There are many answers to why people should buy local; it’s different for different people. But mainly if we want to keep farms surviving and thriving, ensure food safety and keep sustenance in the area, you have to buy local,” said CISA Executive Director Philip Korman.

CISA’s 2006 Research Report found that 44 percent of consumers studied recognized the program’s slogan “Be A Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown.”
As customers walk in and out of the booths in the farmers’ market, they’re supporting local farm land and putting their money into the local economy. Buyers and growers work together to sustain their community.