Forever Elmwood Farmers Market

The reasons to make local farm products a primary part of your food purchases are many and varied. Here are a few borrowed from NY Farms!, a broad-based statewide coalition of organizations, individuals, businesses, agencies and institutions, committed to the future of New York’s farms and families. Local is usually fresher and tastes better. Fresher food is more nutritious. Local food offers better value for your money. You pay for freshness and taste, not packaging, refrigeration and freight. Connections to local farms assure that more people in a community have access to culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate food through local non-emergency sources. Local farms mean more local jobs for local people. The economic “multiplier effect” (the number of times a single dollar is circulated in a community) is higher for family farms than other business sectors. Every dollar is turned over up to five times when farmers buy supplies, equipment, fuel. When you buy directly from farmers, the farm family receives more of the food dollars spent. The more farms, the more economic opportunity for people in rural communities. Suppliers, processors, distributors and retailers all benefit from diverse local agriculture. Owner-operated farms offer individuals self-employment and business management opportunities. When you buy local, your money stays local. Diversity of farms and cropping systems contributes to biological diversity. Well-managed farms contributes to an aesthetically-pleasing rural landscape. Keeping local farms in business preserves open space and wildlife habitat. Farms help maintain high water quality by reducing water run-off. Fuel consumption is lowered when food is purchased locally. Air quality is higher when fuel usage is reduced. Farms enhance our quality of life. Farms often provide recreational opportunities. Agriculture preserves our heritage and enhances our community experience. Farms contribute more in taxes than they cost in services. A broad spectrum of farms translates into diversity of ownership, cropping systems, landscapes, biological organization, culture, and traditions. A diversity of farms contributes to a healthy, vibrant agricultural economy.