We believe that supporting agriculture closer to home is a fundamental first step for achieving sustainability in our food system. Forging lasting working relationships between food producers and food buyers is all about building networks. It is about fostering a handshake economy built upon trust, strong relationships, and a mutual commitment to good, clean, fair food grown close to home.

Many people are talking about the benefits of buying local food these days, and here are some good reasons why.

Buying local...

• Helps farmers pocket a higher percentage of every food dollar, bringing more economic stability to farm communities.
• Cuts greenhouse gas emissions and shrinks your global ecological footprint by lessening transportation to market.
• Studies have shown that every dollar spent with a local food business generates up to $2.50 in additional local economic activity.
• Promotes biodiversity by supporting production of heirloom varieties and lesser-known crops.
• Protects farmland and open space from development by keeping family agriculture a vibrant and competitive land use.
• Brings fresh, quality food to market at the peak of ripeness and seasonality. Have you ever eaten a strawberry from California in the middle of winter? Enough said!
• Builds long term mutually beneficial relationships between food producers and food buyers, and reconnects eaters with the source of their food.

1. Start with just one meal. Maybe host a potluck with friends.
2. Patronize your local farmer's market, SaskMade Stores and farm direct stores around the province.
3. Plan menus with the seasons. Many cookbooks are organized this way now. Buy what's in season and cook with what's on hand.
4. Read labels. Choose foods made in Saskatchewan or at least Canada.
5. Brake for food. If you're driving in the countryside and see a sign for a local farm store, stop in and check it out!
6. Ask your local grocer where the food he/she stocks comes from. Let them know your preferences for locally grown foods. You can do this at your favourite restaurants too. Remember, the customer is king!

• If you switched from eating all imported food to eating only locally produced food, you would already be half way towards achieving Canada's one tonne challenge.
• Saskatchewan's "in-season" self sufficiency in fresh vegetables except potatoes is 7%. This compares to 57% in Manitoba and 33% in Alberta.
• A 2003 Toronto study showed that 0.5 kg of local lamb generated 7 grams of C02 through transportation, compared with 8 kg for the same quantity of fresh New Zealand lamb.
• Canadian statistics on food transportation are not available, but in Britain, between 30 and 40% of all road freight moves food.
• The fossil fuel energy required to ship a head of lettuce from Salinas Valley, California to Washington D.C. is 36 times the energy that the lettuce provides.