The Dirt Next Door: Why Regional Produce Is Our Heartbeat

Our goal at LifeDirt is to increase access to local food in our community, in order to ultimately create greater connection between us humans and the earth around us through the food we eat. We can each make a real impact through this one simple thing that is such an important part of our daily lives.

 

How local is local?

When we say local, we mean regionally local. The majority of our produce comes from producers in Canada's Maritime provinces. We sometimes fill out the boxes with an imported item or two, especially fruit in the winter time. This is currently at the request of the majority of our produce box subscribers.

 

Why is local food at the heart of what we do?

LifeDirt's reasons for focusing on local are several, including: 

1. To support the local economy and enable small farmers to continue their work. Local supports local, as the saying goes. And you can bet that when you support a local enterprise, they are in turn prioritizing supporting other local enterprises in their own supply chains.
2. To support our earth in farming practices. When we know who we are getting our produce from, we can also learn about their farming methods and prioritize supporting farms where regenerative agriculture is practiced. In so doing, we are supporting the healing of our earth.
3. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation across the continent/world. With less distance travelled, there is also a reduced likelihood of preservatives added to the produce.
4. Providing better produce. Additionally, when food has to travel a shorter distance, it is more likely to be harvested when it is ripe, which tastes better and brings more nutrients to the consumer. 
   
5. Eating with the seasons. We have gotten used to accessing any type of food at any time, but when we eat more in line with the seasons, we receive the benefits of a greater variety of fruits and vegetables. Being part of nature’s rhythms can increase a level of mindfulness in our eating habits, and encourage greater connection to the earth around us. For me, this shift has been an experience of “grounding.”

Eating what's naturally available now can also increase the diversity of the beneficial microorganisms living in our bodies (or our microbiome), and can also provide us with specific nutrients and qualities that we need more of at specific times of year within our given climate. This is incredible to me. Many holistic traditions agree with this, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda.

 

It's All Connected

Our healing, the healing of our earth, and the strength of our communities are inherently linked through food. What an opportunity we have to be part of this in our lifetime! 

 

Upcoming posts

We'll be continuing our look into the impact of supporting local in upcoming blog posts, including a look into exactly how your produce box comes to be and some of the producers that we partner with.

 

Interested in learning more? 

Follow this link to our subscriptions page and see if there's an option that suits the needs of you and your loved ones. If you have any questions, please contact me (Miriam) at 506-566-1975 or hello@lifedirt.ca

 

Thanks for checking in today.

 

Miriam