Why eat locally grown foods?

Eating locally grown foods is a great idea.  Why?  One reason is that the fresher the produce, the higher the nutritional value of that produce.  So locally grown foods should have more nutrients than those that are shipped from miles away.  Now lets look at some of the ecological costs.  How much energy is used to transport that food to our table?  According to David Pimentel, a professor emeritus of Cornell University, lettuce traveling to New York from California requires at least 1.4 times the energy to ship it than is used to grow and harvest it.  Keep in mind that the average distance our food travels to get to our table is 1500 miles!  

What can we do and what is happening in Cortland to address the local foods issue?  Grow your own!  There are lots of gardens throughout Cortland County including some that are CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture).  Farmers markets and local stands are another way to buy local foods.  Local grocery stores (Like P & C and Tops) have begun putting up signs letting you know some of their produce is locally grown. Please see the links below for some places where you can find locally grown and locally made products in Cortland County.