There are many benefits for consumers who choose to join the increasingly popular local food movement by purchasing greater quantities of locally grown or produced food from your local farmers. Locally grown food regularly uses less non-renewable resources, fossil fuels, and chemicals, making it an environmentally-sound alternative to food with a large carbon footprint from being imported from distant states or countries.

Locally Grown Benefit – Better Food

Additionally, food items from local sources offer superior taste and freshness, provide increased health advantages, help support independent and family farms, strengthen local economies, and have a more positive ecological impact than imported food. Common sources of local food may include family farms, food co-ops, farmers' markets, and Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA).

In the United States, the majority of imported food items have been altered by irradiation in order to prolong shelf life and grown to withstand industrial harvesting and extended travel. For example, most transit fruits and vegetables have to travel an average of 1300 miles over a period of one to two weeks in order to reach a family's table.

Unlike imported foods, locally grown fruits and vegetables are actually bred for maximum freshness and taste. In fact, since locally grown foods are normally sold within 24 hours of harvesting, these items are filled with nutrients and are much fresher than their imported cousins. In addition, local and independent farms offer a better variety of safe and healthy foods that have not been exposed to hormones, pesticides, antibiotics, or other harmful chemicals.

Locally Grown Benefit – Better Local Economy

Locally grown food also benefits local economies by keeping funds within the community. It has been shown that, while corporate agribusiness profits are steadily increasing, independent farmers are earning lower net cash incomes every year. In fact, large corporations are currently dominating food production in the United States with several huge firms controlling the majority of beef, pork, and poultry sales.

The best way to increase the profits of local and independent farmers is to buy their goods whenever possible. In turn, local farmers will spend more money among community businesses, which strengthens the local economy as a whole. Family-owned or independent farms also provide more jobs to the community and contribute more to neighboring economies than corporate agribusiness networks. Furthermore, purchasing more food from local farmers will help ensure that less of these farms will fail and be sold for land development.

Locally Grown Benefit – Better Environment, Smaller Carbon Footprint

Another major concern of imported food is the negative ecological impact it frequently has on the environment. As a rule, imported foods that are transited over long distances are responsible for the release of more carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), the burning of more fossil fuels, and increased use of packing materials that must eventually be disposed of than are associated with foods grown locally or regionally. This use of resources in shipping and distributing is called a carbon footprint.

A carbon footprint refers to the amount of fuel burned and CO2 released into the atmosphere, and is often used to determine the specific impact one food item has on the environment. For example, beef and cheese both have a substantially large carbon footprint and, if these items can be purchased closer to home, the carbon footprint of the items will be reduced. Since local food tends to be less carbon intensive to grow and to transport, it is a more environmentally-friendly choice than food that has been trucked or flown in.