June 18, 2009

Choose local food for your Independence Day meal

RICHMOND—Local foods are patriotic. Whether purchased directly from the producer at a local farmers’ market, or from a grocer who buys from local farms, local foods are good for your health and your community.

“We would like to encourage Virginians to look for locally produced foods for their July 4th meals,” said Wayne F. Pryor, president of Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. “When you buy local, you support Virginia’s farmers and help build a stronger local, state and national economy. What could be more patriotic than that?”

SaveOurFood.org, the Web site for Farm Bureau’s Save Our Food campaign, includes a Fresh Food Locator feature that visitors can use to locate venues that sell Virginia-grown products. Information about when specific Virginia-grown produce is available can be found online at vdacs.virginia.gov/vagrown/pdf/producechart.pdf.

Americans spend only about 10 percent of their disposable income on food, Pryor noted. “Our country has the safest and most affordable food supply in the world. As a farmer, that means a lot to me and my family this holiday.”

More than 3 million people farm or ranch in the United States. Individuals, family partnerships or family corporations operate 98 percent of U.S. farms. More than 21 million Americans are employed in farm or farm-related jobs, including production agriculture, farm inputs, processing and marketing and wholesale and retail sales.

U.S. farmers produce 39 percent of the world's corn, 38 percent of the world’s soybeans,
21 percent of the world’s cotton and 9 percent of the world’s wheat.

In the 1960s one U.S. farmer supplied food for 46 people in the United States and abroad. Today, one farmer supplies food for 143.

Agriculture and forestry are Virginia’s No. 1 industry, contributing $79 billion annually to the state’s economy.

Contact Greg Hicks, VFBF communications director, at 804-290-1139, or Sherri McKinney, VFBF video producer, at 804-290-1148.