Eat Locally Grown Food
Farmers' Markets held every Wednesday from 12-3 at BIDMC From July 6th to October 19th
Wards Berry Farm will be in front of the Kirstein Building every Wednesday from 12-3 selling fresh fruits and vegetables picked that morning at their farm in Sharon, MA.
Ward's produce will also be available at our
Bowdoin Street Community Health Center on Thursdays from July 7th to October 20th.
If you can't shop here at BIDMC, locally grown produce can also be purchased at a farmers' markets across the state and at farm stands in many communities. For more information check the
MA Dept. of Agriculture's website.
Reasons to Eat Locally Grown Food
It is More Sustainable
Smaller carbon footprint -The ingredients of an average American meal travels about 1,500 miles. If every person ate just one local meal a week, we would save 1.1 million barrels of oil a week. In addition, many smaller community farms use organic methods even if they don't spend the money to get certified. These methods are less mechanical and more biodiverse. As a result, organic systems require about 60 percent less fossil fuel per item of food produced.
Local food is good for wildlife . When you buy local, you give local open space an economic reason to stay undeveloped. The balance of fields, meadows, woods, ponds and buildings of farmland provide homes for many common species of wildlife, including bluebirds, herons, bats, rabbits, and eagles.
Local food is more varied. Food that doesn't have to travel a long distance or have a high-yield can only be grown locally. This means farmers' markets offer varieties of fruits and vegetables that won't make it to a large supermarket.
It is Better For You
Locally grown produce is better for you. Produce purchased in the supermarket or a big-box store has been in transit or cold-storage for days while produce purchased at your local farmers' market has often been picked within 24 hours. Because nutritional value declines with time, recently picked food is healthier for you.
Food from your local farmers' market is safer. Outbreaks of E. coli happen mostly in large industrial settings, where food is mass produced and preserved.
Local food is not Genetically Modified.
Biotech companies only license gmo fruits and vegetables to large commercial growers, which means that local farmers will only be a non-gmo source.
It Tastes Better
Locally grown food tastes better . Food grown locally is picked within a day or two of purchase. This means it is still crisp and flavorful. Produce flown or trucked in from far away is older and was probably picked green and then gassed to make it ripen.