How do you define local food? How far can it travel before it isn’t considered local? Is it grown in your home state? Is it organic? What is a fair price? These questions are packed with food for thought.
I don’t bother much defining local food. I think about it being organic. I like it to be, but I also honor growers who are in the process of going organic or otherwise employ organic methods. I think about how far my food has traveled to reach me. And, I think about price. But, maybe not in the way you think.
Lately, I have considered that I should be paying more for food, especially local food. Here’s why:
Driving down price seems to be steering our food system and that makes me uncomfortable. I don’t mind reductions on fresh food that is past its peak. I am bothered by fresh berries offered at less than $1. I can’t make sense of BOGO. Getting one for free makes me think there is something wrong with one or both items. Discounts that require a membership or loyalty card do not motivate me to buy.
We have little disposable income and I still want to pay more for food. I can’t grasp how a farmer can sow a plant, bring it to ripeness, package, sell it and make any sort of living wage at discounted prices.
The farmer is just one consideration. When sold traditionally, the line of people involved with food distribution includes at least, a processor, a shipper, and the end seller. How can all of those folks make a living wage from food priced at under one dollar? I understand economies of scale and I understand offering a loss leader to attract consumer attention. I don’t understand why we do not place more value on the sustenance and nourishment known as food. For that reason, I want to pay more.
Consider our ease of access to food. Not access to local food but access to any food. Any day, any time, any season. Cranberries are an example of food that can’t be picked up every day of the year but I can think of many more. How appreciative can we be when most food is available every day? I should pay more for out of season food and I should think about how it found its way to me.
Experience tells me that food grown in season tastes better and brings a certain delight to the table. Food grown in season and offered locally brings even more to the table. Local food gives me the added benefit of supporting my neighbor, which is a meaningful and educational transaction. I can ask how the food was grown, why the grower chose a particular variety, favorite ways to eat or cook with their offerings and how they suggest preserving for enjoyment off season. I can count on just a few people’s involvement in the chain that brings the food from seed to me. I should pay for those added benefits.
If I consider the real price of food, its access and the people involved in getting the food to me, price has to be a concern. So, I am working to make our food budget top priority by making it a large part of our monthly expenses. This requires us to be intentional about where and how we spend. I am thinking of our purchases, food or otherwise, as an investment rather than an expenditure. This will help guide us toward more thoughtful purchases. Not only about what the purchase will do for us but what our investment will mean to those who were present at the beginning and throughout the process of bringing it to us. Beginning with local food by appreciating the goodness and privilege of having local food available seems like the best place to begin this process of paying the real price for our food.
That’s what I have been thinking about local food lately. What about you?
Editor’s Note: This originally appeared in the City Folk’s Farm Shop‘s newsletter, September 28, 2014. Republished with permission.
