Do you buy local foods? A poll for a girl scout badge

[skimerinkydo]

My older girls are working on the Girl Scout Harvest Journey and the Locavore Badge. Please help them out by completing this 3 question survey. Thank-you!

[regentrude]

The questionnaire is not well designed and I am unable to answer.

In summer, I can buy local produce at the farmer's market, very convenient. In the winter, nothing grows in MO, and there IS no local produce.

More or less expensive - compared to what? To the same quality? Can't obtain similar quality at all. To the same sort of fruit from elsewhere which is of inferior quality? More expensive, of course.

[Word Nerd]

I do when possible, but it's usually not an option because of where I live.

[Melissa in Australia]

I buy mostly Auissie foods.

But We don't really buy meat, fruit or veggies we grow our own

[Arcadia]

My neighborhood supermarkets carries plenty of California produce so it is easy for me to buy locally even if we didn't go to the farmers market. Usually we buy local vegetables and fruits as it is cheaper.

 

ETA:

I just checked and some of the local farms would be less than 60 miles south (Watsonville, California) and less than 60 miles east (Brentwood, California) of my home. If I did not remember wrongly my neighborhood supermarkets carries a lot of produce from Central Valley, California.

[Laurie4b]

My actual definition of local would be within 25 miles of my home. I checked w/i 100 miles.

My actual answer would be that buying local is somewhat more difficult than buying other produce. I have to go to a particular grocery store (not the closest one) or the farmer's market (only certain days/hours). I checked "the same" even though it's not true, but it was closer to true than "not at all convenient."

Some local foods are more expensive, some less, some about the same, so I checked about the same. I make an effort to buy local when I can.

 

So an accurate answer was not possible for me on any of the questions.

[Farrar]

I also thought the questions were unclear. If I were to only eat from my state, I wouldn't have any options as it's all urban! I picked region, but my region is as big as some states.

 

Local is cheap and easy in summer. Harder in winter. To buy from really local places, you have to buy from the farmer's market - that's very expensive. But you can get regional in the summer at the chain grocery stores and its cheap... But it's also the only option for some items, so it's hard to compare.

[Mrs Mungo]

My votes:

 

What is your definition of "Local Food"?

Within 100 miles of my home

 

How Convenient is buying foods locally for you?

Same as other produce

 

Are local foods more or less expensive for you?

About the same price

 

But, this is variable. I can buy certain types of produce locally, and I do. But, I don't buy all of my produce locally. I voted that it is about the same as buying other produce, but I actually have to go to another store than my usual.

 

[OrganicAnn]

We buy from Farmer's markets Spring, Summer, Fall, but they are not available in Winter. When I go to Whole Foods, they list where the produce and meat/fish come from. My regular supermarket does not mark where anything comes from except by country. I try to keep upping the percentage of local food we buy, but it is not a all-or-nothing proposition. We probably eat about 50% local all the time (due to having a garden and freezing food), but that percentage changes based on whether we had a good year and what we could buy at the farmers market. Some years we've bought more meat locally and some years we just eat less meat.

[Unicorn.]

I couldn't use the poll either- not enough choices.

From the poll, I would choose local as w/in 100 miles, but actually I consider local to be less than that.

 

Convenience- somewhere between same, and not at all. We have a Farmer's market in the summer, on Saturday mornings, but we usually have swim meets on Saturdays, and rarely make the mkt. Our local grocery store sells some produce from local or area farmers in season, so that is fairly easy. With your poll choices it's harder to get than usual, but not at all doesn't work either.

 

As far as price- the farmer's mkt can be slightly more expensive. Local produce in season at the store is slightly less than usual.

[abacus2]

I choose my region. 100 miles seemed too tight, but my state makes no sense because TN is so long that I frequently travel to neighboring states but have only ever driven through Memphis once while living my entire life in TN. It is typically inconvenient and more expensive to buy locally. One exception is beef by the half or quarter. Occasionally the grocery store has local produce. I do participate in a local veggie co-op, but drive 30 minutes one way to pick it up and it isn't cheap.

[m0mmaBuck]

We have a Farmers Market as well as a local produce stand that sell local produce so between them I can get local produce year round. I can also purchase locally raised beef and chicken at the produce stand and buy locally fished seafood and fish from a seafood company down town. It costs about the same as buying the same stuff from the supermarket. You just have to read where it came from to know whether it was grown/raised locally or not.

[bolt.]

The assumption implied by the questions is that "local food" is always "produce" -- in western Canada, very local produce is rare and seasonal (basically just apples, carrots, corn and potatoes) unless it is greenhouse grown or only available in August. However other "food" is quite local, such as barley, rolled oats, wheat flour and products, dairy and meat.

 

You have to live in a more temperate zone to be thinking that "local food" is primarily an issue focused on produce alone.

[gardenmom5]

to get local produce requires farmer's markets,. don't do farmer's markets. very little local produce is in our most used grocery stores and that is seasonal.

[happypamama]

I voted "100 miles," but I would actually say closer, within 15 miles for produce (and often within 2 miles) and within about 45 miles for meat. (My direct area grows a TON of apples, plus other produce, and it's beyond fantastic in season, but our favorite place for beef is a little farther out, but it's the best price for 100% grassfed certified organic beef from a Christian-owned business.)

 

Convenience -- generally it's a bit more inconvenient, but it varies. It's most convenient if I buy all of my food at the nice chain grocery store, but at the height of produce season, I generally make the extra stops to purchase local produce from farm stands/markets.

 

Expense -- hmmm. It's hard to say. It's usually a little more expensive for ground/stew beef, but the quality is much higher, so it's usually worth it. It's way more expensive for nicer cuts, even though the quality is higher, unless I'm buying a full quarter, in which case the nicer cuts are way cheaper, but then the ground stuff is more expensive, and right now, a quarter is still way more expensive per pound than the occasional package of ground beef, which is mostly what I buy. Poultry is way more expensive if it's local, but it's much higher quality. Eggs are a bit more expensive locally but again, much higher quality; we buy from small farms that have semi-free-range chickens (and have seen how they raise the chickens), and it's worth the slight increase in price (10-20%). Produce -- varies. At the height of the season, the best produce might be the same, slightly cheaper, or slightly pricier than non-local stuff, but it's generally much better. I don't buy peaches any other time except during the height of local peach season. :) We have a pretty decent growing season here, but still, in the winter, there really isn't much local produce. Local milk and cheese are much more expensive, but they're also raw and grassfed and worth the price when I can afford them.

 

So, all in all, there are a few things I only buy locally, and for others, it depends on the day. Overall, I do have a very strong preference to support local small farmers/dairies, but sometimes, it's just not possible, and having sufficient quantities of food trumps local and/or organic and/or grassfed/pastured.

 

ETA: Even during the winter, it's very easy for us to get sufficient fresh produce, even if it's not local, and it's not astronomically expensive either. We do eat somewhat seasonally even when buying from the grocery store (and in the summer, our chain grocery store does carry local produce) -- like, in the winter, we'll buy oranges, but we generally don't buy them in the summer. But in the summer, strawberries will be on sale a lot, so we'll buy those then. Or I'll buy more cucumbers in the summer when they're nicer and cheaper. But bananas -- I buy those year-round, and lettuce I'll buy from the grocery store when the local farm markets don't have it anymore, and the prices are pretty much the same all year-round, especially when bought on sale. I realize that I am very blessed by living in this area when it comes to food, and I am really, really grateful for it.

[Parrothead]

100 miles

The farmers rite it's nothing more than a craft fair. Farmers here put up roadside stands and sell via the honor system.

Since I don't want to chase down farm stands all day I don't bother all that often .

[JeneralMom]

Things are so spread out here in western australia that I voted "my state" but ideally within 100 to 200 miles. Everything in our grocery store is labelled where it came from so I can choose to buy the WA yoghurt over, say, the Queensland yoghurt. Many meat items even list which farm it comes from. I can get local stuff at the store, specialty stores like the butchers or at the year round farmers market. I always buy local dairy, eggs, honey, and try fir the most part with nuts and fruit. Meat and fish are about 50/50.

[mumto2]

I prefer to buy food grown in the UK whenever possible-- generally local when able to. Most fresh foods are clearly labeled in the larger stores. When I buy local I generally know which farmer grew whatever. Our butcher has a sign that says our beef is from this farm etc.

 

I really like knowing.

[MistyMountain]

I live in Alaska. I try to buy as much local food as I can and will eventually transition to eating mostly local food but I am not there yet. I mostly think local food is within 100 miles but with a lot of options that isn't possible so I expand to within the state for certain choices.

 

It really depends on what it is or where it is from for prices. Some things are cheaper. Some are more expensive I have a garden every year. This year we finally have a lot so I will hopefully be able to grow more this year. Gardening is cheaper but it is a lot of work. We also have a U Pick farm I hit up and stock up for the winter. The prices there are cheaper than in the grocery store. If I go to the farmer's market though to pick things up it is more expensive.

 

It is cheaper to get wheat berries from the state then to buy bread products but it takes a lot of work. I am not sure how the local flour compares to whole grain flour that isn't local in price. In some instances getting local food isn't hard at all but it does take more planning and sometimes it can be hard to judge how much I will need or hard to preserve things for the winter. It is harder with protein because there is no local beans, nuts or quinoa and the eggs and milk are expensive. We don't eat a lot of meat but I would be ok with hunting and that is more work than buying meat at the store. It is harder to have to catch all our fish then it is to buy it but it is cheaper to catch it. There isn't much fruit that grows here so that is also hard. Things like berries grow and can be foraged for and apples grow but they do not grow as big as other places. I don't think it is super hard to get local choices but it does take some work. If it was easier I would be on a mostly local diet already and we are not. There is a local food challenge in my area and I do know people who ate the majority of their food from local sources for an entire year and they ate good food and didn't sacrifice.

[skimerinkydo]

Thank-you for all the replies to the survey my daughters wrote. This has helped them with their girl scout badge.

[ScoutTN]

We buy local through a CSA and the farmer's markets.And our own garden! Can buy direct from some farms with home delivery for meats. Less convenient than the grocery, but not ridiculuous.

Veggies are about the same price as grocery. Meat, poultry and dairy are quite a bit more. But we buy what we can within the budget because we like supporting local farmers and eating grass-fed/pastured meats. Cheaper if you can buy in bulk, but we don't have a place for a deep freeze are currently very low on savings and cannot do that.