One of the major advantages of eating locally grown food is that local food builds the community surrounding you. This helps you to develop a better understanding, build some level of trust and connect at a personal level with your neighbors and the environment. The simple fact that you know the farmer or the farm that grew the fruit you are eating is quite assuring and very appealing. Having farms around your vicinity also allows you to visit the farms with your children or family members and learn how some of these fruits we all enjoy are grown and harvested.

It should also be noted that at times one of the reasons why people don’t eat fruits or other healthy foods is the unavailability of these foods. If they are grown locally, they become readily available in the local markets and shops. This makes it easy for customers or locals to get their daily share of healthy and fresh fruits. If you like fruit salads, the availability of a variety of fruits make it easier for you to get your fill.

People who are employed and are conscious about their health normally find it difficult to eat healthy foods during the day, the availability of fresh fruits allow them to carry some fruits to work a big plus for both farmers and the local population.

Food that’s been grown locally has been known to promote energy conservation and reduce pollution. This is mainly because the food travels a shorter distance than foods or fruits coming from far flung areas. Most foods are usually transported to the market by truck, air, water vessels or rail; these modes of transport use a lot of petroleum, by buying your local fruits or other foods you are helping to conserve the energy that would otherwise be used to transport the same foods to your local market or shops.

Local food is more nutritious and tastes better. This is because when you buy local foods you will be receiving fresh produce that has just been picked from the farm and delivered to the nearest store. This ensures that the sugars don’t turn to starches, the fruits don’t lose their flavor and the cells of those plants don’t shrink at all. Local food therefore retains more nutrients.

Buying local has been known to greatly support and help grow the local economy. By keeping local farmers in business, the farm also maintains its employees who in turn are able to maintain their families. Studies have also shown that by purchasing local items such as fruits, vegetables and other locally grown foods twice as much money stays in the community as would otherwise be spent or used elsewhere.

Local farmers also tend to look for business in the local community; they would try to sell their produce to local companies. This inter-dependent cycle of reliance builds and helps develop a close business and social bond between farmers, local companies and the local government. This ends up making and planning agricultural projects relatively easy and simple, in the process ensuring that the future of that particular industry is secured.

Picture taken from http://in2fruit.com.au