How to Become a Locavore

Before high speed transportation and portable refrigeration, everyone tended to be a locavore.  Locavore is term employed to identify a person who chooses to eat as much of his or her diet from foods grown in the area where they live.  Most locavores work hard to find and purchase products that are raised nearby.  Locavores believe they are eating fresher healthier food, and they probably are.

For most people the pathway to become a locavore is difficult because we are accustomed to eating what the local grocery stores stock.  In order to become a locavore, it requires that people take on changing the foods available in their community.

Start the process of becoming a locavore by finding farmers markets doing business in your area.  Almost all metropolitan areas have at least one excellent market where local growers can come and sell their products.  This includes meat, vegetables, and fruits.  The advantage of most of these markets is that the competition is heavy so the prices are kept at moderate levels.  Sometimes you can even negotiate a lower price right on the spot.

During the various seasons, you need to shop these markets and stock up on local items.  You can prepare them for freezing or canning or some other method of preserving.  This will give you access to many local items even when the season passes.  Commitment to your locavore principles will be easier to maintain if you have a steady source of desirable items.

Grow your own food.  If you live in a city, this can be a little difficult to do in significant quantities, but you can still grow things like tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and depending on local codes, small animals.  Growing your own food is satisfying and rewarding.  It may not be a great cost savings, but it will serve to stretch the other local foods over a longer time period.

If you can join up with other locavores, use the power of the group to persuade local grocers to buy more of their products from local growers.  Some stores already do this, but it is important that these wares be labelled as being from a local food source.  This will allow locavores to make better selections when shopping.

Using the resources of a group, you can also network to locate more vendors and markets where locally grown foods are marketed.  You may find that within 25 or so miles of your location are several sources of local products.  Encourage more vendors to begin selling by doing as much business as possible with these establishments.  Even local restaurants can be encouraged to support local farmers by adding their products to the menu.

It is almost impossible to become a total locavore immediately.  It is best by starting with a decision to buy certain items if they are grown locally.  This works best with fruits and vegetables.  Most people have many foods grown within a hundred miles of their residence.   By selecting 5 or 6 items that are locally grown, you can have some local products in your pantry quite quickly. 

Once you are comfortable buying up these items, add in a few more.  Keep working at it and making lists of where additional products can be purchased.  It may take a year or so, but with work, you can convert a large percent of your diet to fresh local foods.  This will reduce the amount of chemical preservatives that you are ingesting on a daily basis. 

You may want to add another layer to this project.  Try to buy organically grown local products as the first choice when it is possible.  This way you will also eliminate insecticides, herbicides, and heavy doses of fertilizers.  The goal is healthy eating and support of the local farmer.  You will feel better in the long run if you try at least a little of this.