In 2019, we kicked off the new year with a blog about how to swap out sugar for raw and unfiltered honey. In 2020, our resolution hits even closer to home: we’re going to eat local every chance we get, whether that means honey, veggies or beef.

The reasons to be more conscious of where your food comes from abound––plus, the farm-to-table and locavore movements have already been heavily debated––so we’re not going to rehash them here. Instead, let’s look at how you can put some more local food on your plate in 2020.

Shop at a Farmer’s Market – Or a Farm

If you’ve never had the joy of wandering through a farmers’ market, you’re missing out. Spend your morning grocery shopping out in the open air; you won’t miss those fluorescent lights and foggy freezers. Seriously, there’s no excuse. The USDA and Local Harvest even have search engines to help you find one nearby.

In most cases, farmer’s market booths are staffed by the same people who grow the food, giving you the chance to learn as much as you want about the (typically small) farms it comes from. And while they have a reputation for being pricey, that’s not quite true. Many vegetables are actually cheaper than at grocery stores, and there aren’t shelves stocked with thousands of potential impulse buys.

Take your shopping trip a step further by visiting a “Pick-Your-Own” or “U-Pick” farm, which allow customers to pick their own produce. Prices vary, but it’s worth making the trip when you always get the freshest possible fruits and veggies.

See About a CSA

Community Supported Agriculture allows you to purchase fresh vegetables and support local farmers without even leaving your house. Introduced in the 1980s, CSAs are essentially buying shares in a local farm, but instead of quarterly dividends, you get weekly veggies. Or, to put it in today’s terms: they’re like a subscription box for produce. You’ll cut out the middleman and get high-quality, locally grown produce sent straight to your door. You can find a CSA online at LocalHarvest.org.

Check out more tips like these in Part II, coming later this month. In the meantime, if you’re hungry for more info on local food, you can learn about what goes into each of our honey varietals in our Local Hive Highlight blog series.