The Farm to Table Movement is changing the way American families live and enjoy meals. Our family made the jump about six years ago when we decided to grow a garden. Ever since, we have added a little more to our homestead with chickens, pigs, and rabbits, we have seen such an improvement in our family’s way of life!

Farm-to-table means that you are choosing produce, eggs, milk, and meat from local farms instead of from national supermarket chains. By doing so, you provide a lot of benefits for your family, your health, and your local community.

Discover four fantastic benefits of being involved in the farm-to-table movement!

It Helps the Local Community

First of all, buying local is going to help the local economy and community. Implementing the farm-to-table movement involves buying the majority of your produce, milk, eggs, and meat from local farmers and ranchers. When you do this, you are helping local farmers instead of buying from corporate farmers from across the state or even on the other side of the country. These small farmers need all the help they can get. You can either buy from them directly, purchase their products at a local grocer who buys from them, or go through a farmer’s market.

You Get Healthier Food

Healthier food is one of my top reasons for joining the farm to table movement. Because we are growing and buying locally, I can verify that the fruits and vegetables are not being genetically-modified or grown with chemicals. If you’ve ever grown produce of your own, then you know how quickly they can go bad. To preserve the products for transport across the country – or even from one country to another – fruits and veggies and being sprayed with chemicals. Who wants all that extra junk in our foods? I sure don’t!

It Encourages Proper Animal Welfare

The farm-to-table movement allows you to buy your eggs, milk, and meat from local farms that tend to treat their animals much better. They aren’t mass producing these food items, so they aren’t as concerned with pumping their chickens and cows with hormones just to get more out of them. They are often grass-fed and get to roam freely around the farm, so animal welfare is not a concern like when you buy from corporate farmers.

Local Farmers Help Add to Environmental Sustainability

There are a few different ways farm-to-table can help with the local environment. First of all, less chemicals are used when you buy fresh and local produce since it doesn’t have to sit in a truck and travel long distances. Since the trucks aren’t using a lot of extra fuel to get to different supermarkets, there aren’t excess emissions being released in your local air supply. You can visit the farm yourself to pick up your produce and eggs or stop by your local farmer’s market. Ours is open from May through October.