Why Buy Local Produce?
Buying local produce helps the environment.
When you buy local produce you reduce your environmental impact. Your food often travels less than 100km to get to you, which means you’re helping reduce C02 emissions.
Produce that is flown in from all over the world is also often packaged with plastics that cannot be recycled. Buying local means buying produce with less packaging, or in the case of Catena Farm, zero packaging! Another easy way to reduce your environmental impact.
Buying local produce is better for your health.
Fresher = better quality = higher nutrient content. When you purchase your produce from us, what you get was harvested that day or the day before. Fresh food has a higher nutritional content, which in turn passes on to you when you eat it. Its a win win!
Buying local produce supports direct connections between farmers and consumers.
Those direct connections are so important because it gives you back the purchasing power that has been lost with the rise of superstore chains. Being able to ask a farmer questions about the food you and your family eats is a connection every person should have. If a farmer grows using organic methods they are proud of what they do and wholeheartedly welcome questions people have about their food. For us, the farmers market is our favourite day of the week because of the amazing interactions we get to have with people interested in local food.
Buying local produce is an investment in the future.
By supporting local farmers today, you are helping to ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow. That is a matter of importance for food security for years to come.
Buying local produce builds community.
Getting to know your local growers and people in your community that share the same values can help you build meaningful human connections.
Buying local produce helps the local economy.
When you buy local, it stays local. More jobs will be created in your town, the community will prosper, and people will be more connected than ever to their own town.
Buying local produce is way more fun!
In a world where people are often stuck behind a computer and face-to-face interactions have become a thing of the past, shopping at a farmer’s market can increase your happiness by bringing important human interaction back into your life. What could be better than walking through a crowd of smiling people planning a healthy dinner on a warm sunny day? The smells, the sounds, the people, and the beautiful colours are what make a trip to your Farmer’s Market a weekly ritual that can improve your quality of life and the lives of the local farmers that get to meet you.