Defining “Local”

“Local”, is a term so widely and freely used in the food industry it’s hard to understand what it really means. What food constitutes as local? Where can it come from? It’s an incredibly subjective term, especially since there aren’t any national guidelines to give us any context as to what “Local” can or should be.

So let’s start by giving the word a little context. By definition “Local” means “belonging or relating to a particular area or neighborhood, typically exclusively so.”So something that is advertised as local should be relative to the person or group providing or marketing the food or service. For example, I live in Brooklyn, so something local to me should fall within a geographical radius that can be traveled in a reasonable time or distance. What should that time or distance be? It depends, what type of area do you live in? Is it rural, urban, suburban, flat, or mountainous, on an island? Each of these types of areas has a different time or distance it takes to travel from one area to another depending on its own unique qualities and infrastructures.

Now that I’ve made this even more confusing, let’s take a look at how some of the industry players define this term. Many companies, farms, and markets define “Local” as being within 200- 300 miles or 5 hours. I feel this is fair depending on where you live when referring to food and considering how and where it is grown. Typically any area within this radius will have similar temperature, soil, water access, and seasons that promote the growth of crops unique to that climate. There are exceptions to this of course. If we consider all of these factors, then what we are describing is an agricultural region.

So really “Local”…is “Regional”. Eating regional food is the best way to experience the amazing and unique foods that your area has to offer and help build resilience and strength in your community. This is how I choose to define “Local” when referring to sourcing ingredients for Dogwood Provisions Co. products or my personal consumption. Supporting  regional farmers means food gets to consumers faster with fewer food miles traveled and more flavor and nutrients intact from the time it’s harvested. It means keeping money and resources in our communities to create wealth and opportunity. I think we should celebrate the hard work and love that many of these farmers and producers put into what they create and care for. I do this with the pantry items made by Dogwood Provisions Co. by highlighting the names and locations of the local farms that I source from.

So the next time you see the term “Local” at a restaurant, store, or market ask to learn more about where your food is coming from and who grew it.

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them.