It’s January and so naturally you’ll be thinking of all those New Years Resolutions you should be making. Most people seem to break their resolutions within a couple of weeks so we thought we’d put together five of the very best reasons to BUY LOCAL FOOD in 2011 as a little reminder and hope that people in West Cornwall make supporting local businesses one of their resolutions this New Year.

Reason 1: SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ECONOMY. Money you spend on local food goes directly back to the farmer, fisherman or small food business you bought it from. This helps their business grow, meaning they employ more people and spend more money with other local suppliers. Every pound spent with a local business circulates longer in our economy than those spent with a supermarket.

Reason 2: REDUCE FOOD MILES AND PACKAGING. Food miles are clocked up when food travels around the country or even the world to get onto the supermarket shelves. This travel adds up to a huge amount of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly when fresh food is flown in on a daily basis. Research has shown that when you buy food locally you can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions associated with distribution by 99.8%. Unnecessary food packaging accounts for huge amounts of waste which has be to be dealt with by local councils – buying direct from the producer means you get less paper, cardboard and plastic.

Reason 3: REDUCE FOOD WASTE. A proportion of the food grown for the supermarkets is rejected because it’s the wrong size, shape or colour. Despite being perfectly good food, this food is thrown away. Farmers selling their produce locally offer nothing but the best and this will include small, large, weird shaped foods because that’s how nature does things!!

Reason 4: BUYING LOCAL PROTECTS OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRYSIDE. The Cornish landscape has been created by farmers over generations – it is a working countryside. You can help keep it looking great by buying what it produces direct from the people who care for it.

Reason 5: LOCAL FOOD IS FRESH, TOP QUALITY AND VERY, VERY GOOD FOR YOU. At farmers’ markets you can find the very best seasonal foods freshly picked, caught or produced especially for you.  It’s easy to forget that while the British climate produces some of the best tasting fruit and vegetables we cannot grow them all year round. Buying direct at farmers’ markets puts you and your family in touch with the seasons when the produce is at its very best.

There are plenty of other reasons for buying local food – well supported farmers’ markets are good for town regeneration and community cohesion, you meet the people who make your food, buying direct promotes high animal welfare standards…we could go on and on!

Support local food producers in 2011 and help ensure the fantastic food industry made here in West Cornwall continues to thrive and grow.