Many people wonder if it’s worth purchasing organically grown food. In my opinion, it’s not a simple answer. My first choice is to purchase locally grown food that’s chemical free. Maybe it’s certified organic, but maybe it’s not.

STANDARDS

Chemical-free food doesn’t come with a certification. It means that your farmer doesn’t use any chemicals, industrial nutrients, or prophylactic antibiotics. According to Matt Russell & Pat Standley of Coyote Run Farm, “We support certified organic. We don’t claim to be better. It’s just that we don’t gain enough by certifying to offset the cost and most of that cost is the record keeping. Our customers trust us…” Which means that you have to trust your farmer. Which also means that you have to know your farmer. So start asking questions and seeking out answers.

PROXIMITY

In my opinion, local food needs to be grown, raised, or produced by a farmer within reasonable driving distance. Purchasing local food, whether directly from a farmer, thru a co-op, or via a farmers market, greatly reduces the number of hands your food passes through on the way from dirt to plate. It also means that it doesn’t have to travel very far. 

COMMUITY

When your food doesn’t have to travel very far, your dollars don’t, either. By purchasing local food, you’re keeping those dollars circulating in your local community.

DELICIOUSNESS

Locally grown food is picked at it’s peak of freshness and consumed shortly thereafter, while it’s still super fresh and chock-full of nutrients. Lots of produce at the grocery store is grown for uniformity and longevity, picked un-ripe and ripens during the long transport to a distribution center and then your store. Think of tomatoes. In the grocery store you’ll find red-ish tomatoes that are all the same shape and size. Then think of tomatoes freshly picked in the summer; they come in all shapes and sizes and a rainbow of colors.

TIMING

Obviously, your location in the great big world will determine your ability to get local produce throughout the year. In Iowa, when it gets pretty cold, chickens stop laying eggs and produce just won’t grow. Farmers are doing a great job of using high-tunnels to extend the growing season, but April-November is about as good as it’s going to get. Fortunately, many crops winter well, extending the opportunity to have local food into the winter months. But, there are still many times when you will need to look beyond local, especially if you’re seeking something that requires a particular climate to grow.

BEYOND LOCAL

There are many times throughout the year, and especially during the winter, that I purchase the bulk of our food at the grocery store. There, when faced with the dilemma of organic vs. conventionally grown food, it comes down to priority. 

When purchasing food for 6 hungry people, quantity and cost come into play. At the grocery store, organic becomes the gold standard, but more than anything I try and buy food in it’s most natural form, with as few added ingredients and minimal processing as possible. So many food label claims are vague and misleading, so I make sure to read the fine print and skip over anything that’s been bleached, injected, or altered unnaturally, to name a few.

LOCAL OPTIONS

With the growing season upon us, we’re entering the best time of year to buy local and hopefully, Farmer’s Markets will start soon. On that note, farmers, farm stands, and co-ops have begun to offer drive-thru options, which is wonderful during this time of social distancing. If you do get the chance to talk to a farmer, don’t hesitate to ask questions about their farm and growing practices; they’ll want to share information about their farm and want to get to know you too! 

Since we're here in Iowa, I wanted to share some of my favorite local farmers that we trust. See below in alphabetical order: 

Berry Patch Farm 

Blue Gate Farm

Bridgewater Farms

Busy Bee Garden Center 

Country View Dairy

Coyote Run Farm

Dogpatch Urban Gardens

Grade A Gardens

Iowa Food Coop

Picket Fence Creamery

Rinehart’s Family Farm

Supporting local farms often means more than a "one-stop-shop" at a grocery store. Yet, given our current climate of social restrictions, a weekend drive to a farm can be a rejuvenating outing for the entire family!