Why should we eat locally?

Harmony Cafe aims to encourage and support local agriculture and business. Through donations and fundraising, our mission is to provide you with food directly from local farms – and when possible, organic.

Photo from lifoodconference.com

So, as eating local food continues to grow in trend, the questions beg: Why eat local? What are the benefits?

According to Clemson University’s Cooperative Extension:

“1. Freshness. Local fruits and vegetables are usually harvested and sold more quickly so they do not contain the preservatives that are added to products shipped long distances and placed in storage.

2. Taste. Produce that is ripened on the vine has better texture and flavor than produce harvested unripe, then treated with chemicals and ripened during shipping.

3. Nutrition. Nutritional value declines — often drastically — as time passes after harvesting.

4. Improving the local economy. When you buy homegrown food, you circulate your food dollars inside the local area.

5. Strengthening producer/consumer relations. When purchasing food locally, consumers can ask how the product was grown and processed, what chemicals (if any) were used, and any other questions they may have. People tend to trust individuals they know, and they become repeat buyers.”

Supporting, volunteering and buying food from Harmony Cafe will help strengthen communal relations – not only between farmer and consumer but also, between members of the very community in which Harmony Cafe exists.

We aim to create a social, collective and supportive atmosphere – buying, selling, using and consuming local food is just one small piece in the jigsaw puzzle of community that Harmony Cafe is seeking to create.

How can you get involved in the local food movement?

Visit farmers markets and community cafes to enjoy better food for the same value.

Below is a link to farmers markets in Suffolk and Nassau County for the summer of 2015.

http://www.longislandpress.com/2015/05/30/long-island-farmers-markets-summer-2015/  

Port Jefferson, NY Farmer's Market

On our website harmonycafeli.org, donations of any size are welcome. They will be used to support farmers in our area, by bringing their produce into Harmony Cafe when we open.

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