Eating Local is a Community Service, Oklahoma City food columnist Sherrel Jones examines the different ways people can find locally grown foods.
By Sherrel Jones, The Daily Oklahoman
Published: May 18, 2011

Ask me today how to get locally grown Oklahoma food, and I could talk enough to equal one of our recent windstorms.

Local is a concept worth growing for plenty of reasons.

First is flavor. If you ever have enjoyed freshly harvested arugula,asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, peas, new potatoes, onions orspinach, you know what a difference it makes.

Secondary reasons are many, but supporting the "Know your farmer, know yourfood" movement helps assure quality you can trust.

Buying produce that only had a short distance to travel has plenty to dowith how fresh food is when it arrives in your kitchen. Food that hastraveled 1,500 miles and sat in storage for days, weeks or even monthsbefore traveling to your local grocer is not the same as that picked from afarm nearby.

Less travel for your food means less fuel, meaning less dependence on foreign oil, which means extra money to spend on locally grown food.

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