Growing Local

What does it mean when we say “local?" Local food can be measured in many ways, but the number of miles that food has traveled to get from farm to plate reveals a lot. When a tomato is shipped thousands of miles from California to North Carolina, it not only loses flavor, it also takes local farmers out of the equation - and that has an impact on the local food economy. One way to help build healthy local food systems is to choose farm products grown close to home. Buying food that is part of the local food economy instead of the global food economy generally reduces the carbon emissions it takes to transport and refrigerate food as it travels across the globe. Buying local is an important way to invest in local food systems, but how can you tell how far food has traveled to get here? Food labels help consumers understand the origin of what they eat. Appalachian Grown is a regional branding project started by ASAP that certifies produce and food products that come from the Southern Appalachians. The dist