Why should people buy from local farms, and who cares if there even are any local farms? These are questions for the dog days of summer, good questions for Californians and for CSA members.
Knowing where your food comes from, having a farm to visit with your family, knowing how your food is grown, getting your fruits and veggies picked at their peak — these are a few good reasons that come to mind, for buying local. Many people also think that buying from a farmer that you know is good for the local economy. To find out more, a group at the University of California, in Davis recently completed a research project and determined that for every dollar of sales, Sacramento region direct marketing farmers are generating twice as much economic activity within the region as compared to producers who are not involved in direct marketing.
The researchers were comparing farms that sell direct to the public, with farms that do not sell direct to the public. Direct marketing includes activities like CSA and farmers markets. While the direct marketers had fewer overall sales, they purchased 89% of their inputs within the local region compared to 45% for farmers not doing direct sales. One of the most striking differences was that for every one million dollars of output produced by direct market farmers, 31.8 jobs are generated (hired labor is a very high percentage of expenses on direct marketing farms) compared to 10.5 jobs created for every million dollars of output on farms that don’t do direct marketing in the region. Here’s a link to the just-published study.
The Full Belly Farm CSA was started in 1992, with a lot of help from community members who wanted to ensure a weekly supply of our produce coming to their door. We hope that there have been benefits to your health, the local economy and the environment as a result of this 24 year relationship. Here’s another reason for buying from local farmers: By supporting local farmers today, you are helping to ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow. Buying local is an investment in the future! Thank you so much for being a member of the Full Belly CSA.
