Buy Fresh, Buy Local Food Guide Now Available

Food shoppers looking for the freshest, locally grown food in the Tulsa area now have a helping hand. The 2007 Local Food Guide combines beautiful graphics and useful information about farmers’ markets and other local food markets into one handy pamphlet, making for easier picking of locally grown foods. 

“People who’ve shopped at Tulsa area farmers’ market this season have probably seen all the colorful Buy Fresh, Buy Local signage at vendors’ booths and neighboring businesses,” says Rita Scott of the nonprofit Sustainable Green Country.  “The food guide is a continuation of our efforts to help connect consumers with farm-fresh Oklahoma raised foods.”

Besides helping shoppers locate farmers’ markets and local food stores, the Food Guide also includes information about the Oklahoma Food Cooperative and seasonal availability of specific produce and other foods grown in Oklahoma.

The 2007 Local Food Guide is now available electronically at Sustainable Green Country’s website, www.sustainablegreencountry.org, and at www.kerrcenter.com.  Printed copies can be picked up free at Tulsa area farmers’ markets and other locations listed in the food guide, as well as at Tulsa Public Library branches, and many other outlets.

Buy Fresh, Buy Local is part of a national movement taking place in at least 26 other states through a network of regional and local chapters spearheaded by the nonprofit group, FoodRoutes.  Sustainable Green Country and the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture are working together to bring this effort to Oklahoma, starting in the Tulsa Metro area.

As described in the Kerr Center’s Centennial Report, Closer to Home, Oklahomans have some of the highest rates of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, while ranking last in the nation for fruit and vegetable intake. Also, most of the limited produce we do consume is imported from great distances outside our state.  Meanwhile Oklahoma farmers and rural communities struggle to survive.

Increasing access to nutritious, locally grown foods is one strategy for turning these problems into fields of opportunity.  “Connecting consumers with local food producers contributes to the health of our families and our local economy, while supporting our neighbors and nurturing our civic pride,” states Doug Walton, Buy Fresh, Buy Local Coordinator at the Kerr Center.

Tulsa Metro shoppers spend over $2 billion annually on food at grocery stores and restaurants, most of it grown and processed far away from home.  Spending just five percent of our food budget on nutritious locally-grown products would amount to $110 million staying within the local economy each year. 

Future plans include expanding the food guide to list u-pick operations and individual farms and farmers wishing to connect directly with customers.  Chapter organizers also hope to eventually include area restaurants and grocers who offer foods from local farms.  Local sponsors include The Children’s Hospital at St. Francis, Oklahoma Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma.

For more information, contact Rita Scott of Sustainable Green Country at 640-5408 or rejuvrita@olp.net.