Local Farming

Most fruits and vegetables grown throughout the US are picked 4 to 7 days before being placed on supermarket shelves, and is shipped for an average of 1500 miles before being sold. This is when you take into account only US grown products and not imported products from Canada, Mexico, South America or Asia which take much longer! That means that when you purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables...that shorter time between harvest and your table is less likely that the nutrient value has been decreased in your food. Having the option to purchase locally grown food has many other benefits as well. Here are Five Reasons to Buy Local...

  1. Locally grown fruits and vegetables taste better. Here at Peters Orchards we can pick our fruit at the peak of ripeness and deliver it to your table the very same day, thereby ensuring maximum taste and nutrient value. Every extra mile that a piece of fruit must travel adds to its age. As a piece of fruit ages, it loses sugars and nutrients with each passing day. Buying fruit from local growers, like the Peters family, will ensure an optimum eating experience
  2. Buying locally grown fruits and vegetables supports local farming families. When a consumer buys produce directly from local markets, they ensure that more money will stay in the hands of the farmers that produced those goods. When a farm prospers, there is a greater likelihood that the farm, through its activities, will be able to support future generations of the family. When buying local, the consumer has the potential to learn more about the people feeding their own family. This gives peace of mind in knowing where your food has been produced. Consumers have the ability to question the growers first hand about production styles used on the farm. These relationships build a sense of community, that we can all share the earth together.
  3. Eating locally grown produce will ensure fields stay in farming, thereby preserving open space. We all love taking a Sunday drive through our beautiful central Pennsylvania farmland. If farms can remain profitable and attractive to a new generation of farmers, there will be less need for local governments to appropriate tax dollars for the preservation of open space. It has also been shown that a farm contributes more in local taxes than it uses in local services. Whereas once a farm is developed, the newly constructed suburban sprawl will use more services than it creates in additional tax revenue.
  4. Buying locally also has an advantageous environmental impact. Peters Orchards uses a sustainable approach in growing healthy fresh fruits and vegetables. These growing methods preserve the natural balance in the surrounding community. Rows of trees are planted on the contour to minimize soil erosion. Ponds and buffer strips of land provide habitats for both nesting and migratory bird species, as well as many butterfly species. The surrounding wooded lots house countless mammalian species. The trees of the orchards also absorb carbon from our atmosphere, helping in the battle against global warming. Not to mention that buying from a neighbor consumes fewer fossil fuels, than shipping foods all over the world.
  5. Finally, local foods are for our future. Our future farming families, our future open spaces, and our future access to an abundant, healthy food source. The United States is dependent on the rest of the world to provide our sources of energy. Let us all hope that we will not need to depend on the world for our food supplies!