BFBL Food Guide and Promotional Events Partners pay a membership fee to be involved in the pro- gram, allowing them to take advantage of the benefits of having a dedicated organization promoting their product. “We create a local food guide, coordinate tasting events, promote farms and farmers’ markets and educate consum- ers about the benefits of choosing locally-grown foods,” explains Prior. The latest addition to the program is a new online social networking community called the Good Food Neighborhood™ which links local people to local food, farms and to one another.
BFBL Membership Networking Benefits David Harder, owner of Nature’s Way Market, a health
Chefs of Bolete at Taste of Lehigh Valley
on taste, not shelf life. Nutritional value is another consideration. Over time, food loses nutrients; therefore something that has been shipped for days compared to a product that has gone directly from farm to table will not have as much nutri- tional value.
Retaining Food Dollars in Lehigh Valley Perhaps most importantly, buying local keeps food dollars circulating in the community. According to the USDA’s 2007 Census of Agriculture report, Lehigh Valley consum- ers are spending $1.50 billion on food. Only $3.1 million of food was sold directly from local farms to consumers and we are only purchasing 0.2 percent of our food directly from farmers. Prior says if our 241,047 households spent $10 per week from May to November (28 weeks) it would generate $67 million for the local economy, or 4.2 percent of our food dollars. The goal is to have consumers spend 10 per- cent on local foods, generating $158 million for farmers and creating an extra $72 million to benefit the Lehigh Valley.
The staff at Natures Way - Easton
food store that sells locally-grown meats, dairy, eggs, and produce in Easton says the BFBL program has helped his business by allowing local purveyors to find him as a po- tential outlet for their products. “If not for my partnership in Buy Fresh Buy Local, I might not have known they were out there.”
Heather Skorinko of Suyandalla Farms agrees. “Being a
BFBL partner has given me the opportunity to speak at differ- ent functions, meet new people and gain potential custom- ers and more exposure for the farm.”
Getting the word out about the unique spectrum of growers in the region is something that BFBL does well ac- cording to partner Holly Harter of Subarashii Kudamono in Coopersburg. She says it is a great resource and network for everyone from growers and consumers to business owners. “They are gently re-training all of us to remember to buy our foodstuffs in and from our own community, the way it should be.”
How BFBL Benefits the Consumer BFBL benefits the consumer by making the knowledge and information available to consumers so that they can make informed decisions about the food they consume. Knowing where the food came from and how it was raised is invalu- able. Prior says the food not only tastes better because it is fresh, but also because local farmers grow varieties based
Rippling Rewards of Local Food Dollars Prior says buying local supports community economic development by increas- ing the multiplier effect – the number of times money is re-circu- lated within the local economy before leav- ing through purchase of
Guests enjoying the Taste of Lehigh Valley at Melt in Saucon Valley
import. “Studies have shown that $1spent at a national chain store yields a return of 15 cents to the local econo- my,” she explains. “When that same $1 is spent with a local retailer, it returns 45 cents to the local economy.” PASA’s executive director, Brian Snyder says he believes the time has come for a massive reorganization and rejuve- nation of agricultural practices to help address some of our society’s most difficult challenges. “We believe that partici- pation in our organization will help to bring the agricultural solutions that we all crave as much as good food itself.”
For more information, visit
PASAfarming.org or call 814- 349-9856. For information about the Buy Local Buy Fresh program, visit
BuyLocalPA.org/LehighValley.
natural awakenings July 2010 31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64