By now, just about everyone who cares even a little about food knows that using local ingredients is a good thing–good for the environment, good for the farmers, good for local businesses, good for your taste buds.

Five Points Farm Market. Photo | Gabe Romero

But not everyone knows how to go about doing this local food thing.  Tackling the challenge of eating locally can seem like a completely foreign and impossible idea because we’ve all become so accustomed to this supermarket, always-there-when-you-want-it, ready-made food way of life.  We are the kings of convenience; heaven forbid we do, make, or grow anything ourselves.

So, where to start when one realizes that those tomatoes from Mexico aren’t such a good idea, but doesn’t exactly have five acres, a plow, and a donkey out back?  Here’s a little list that Buy Fresh Buy Local HR threw together to help you clean up your food habits and to make the switch to local a little easier.

1 Start Small. No one expects you to trade your condo for a farm out in Pungo. Figure out what works for you and your family. And remember that every food purchase you make is like voting with your dollar.

2 Know Where Your Food Comes From & How It Is Produced. Do you know your farmer’s name? Try to!  Also, when walking through the produce section of the supermarket, look for signs/labels noting the source of the food (sorry guys, but you’ll be hard pressed to find local bananas or pineapple). Don’t see anything local? Ask for it. They listen to the demands of their customers. If something is marked ‘local’, make sure that it really is…because, Mr. Farm Fresh guy, last time I checked, Allegheny County was in Pennsylvania, not Hampton Roads.

Lettuce from New Earth Farm in Virginia Beach.

3 Buy Local Products Whenever Possible. There are dozens upon dozens of amazing farms in the Hampton Roads area that are great sources of fresh and delicious produce, meats, eggs, honey, and even flowers. Virginia is also home to many great wineries, breweries and distilleries, and our location is ideal for local seafood companies. Consider this: While the average American lives within 20 miles of where an everyday veggie like broccoli is grown, the broccoli in most supermarkets has traveled about 1,800 miles to get there.

4 Shop at Farmers Markets. It’s less expensive and more delicious than you’d think, and getting to know your farmers is so fun. You don’t have to buy all your groceries there, but even buying just your produce locally makes a big impact.

5 Eat With the Seasons. It’s a simple rule that I cannot stress enough. You’re not supposed to have tomatoes in January and grapes in April. Why do you think they always taste so horrible when you do? The only reason you find them in supermarkets year-round is because they’ve been picked before they’re ripe, shoved in a truck (or boat), chemically ripened, and then hauled thousand of miles to get here. So save that special strawberry-rhubarb pie recipe you’ve been dying to impress grandma with for the springtime, babe. You’ll be glad you did.

Chef Philip Craig Thomason at his restaurant Vintage Kitchen, which serves up dishes highlighting fresh, local ingredients. Photo | DCPG

5 Support Restaurants That Serve Locally Produced Food. I know when I order the vegetable sampler at The Boot I won’t be getting a plate full of produce fresh from the back of a Sysco truck; instead it will be a gorgeous showcase of what local farms have to offer. While the number of restaurants that source locally is growing, I just wish every restaurant was on the same page as these guys. When dining out, ask your waiter (nicely) what dishes use local products and where these products are from. More restaurants have been seeing the demand for more locally sourced food and have been featuring in on their menus.

6 Cook More. You can control what comes into your kitchen. Challenge yourself to eat one local meal or more each week. Once you get into the swing of things, increase that number.

7 Grow Your Own. Everyone knows that homegrown tomatoes taste better, so get more adventurous and try peppers, herbs, salad greens, the works!  You’ll save a ton of money when you don’t have to buy a million-dollar package of fresh basil every time you want a caprese salad, and produce always tastes better and is more nutritious when picked straight from the plant.

8 Visit a Farm. Go strawberry picking, blueberry picking, pea picking, apple picking, peach picking…you get the idea.

9 Preserve in Growing Season. Canning is an art that is all but lost, but is so useful and worth the trouble when you want a bit of summertime flavor in your winter dishes. Freezing fresh, blanched, or fully cooked produce is also an option and requires no special equipment. Also, a great gadget to invest in is a food dehydrator. You can dry your own fruit and tomatoes for yummy and nutritious snacks, use on salads, or in recipes.

Weeping Radish Farm, near Outer Banks. Click image to read more about them. Photo | Asha Baisden

10 Support Small Farms Everywhere. Ditch the gallon jugs of condiments, oils, vinegars and the like.  Buy from small independent businesses whenever you can.  The small-batch goods usually taste better and are less processed.  And purchasing them helps keeps those who made them in business and going strong.

11 Move from Processed Food to Fresh Food. Food with ingredients you cannot pronounce isn’t really food at all in my book.  Neither is food with an ingredients list the length of the Encyclopedia Britannica.  Stay away from artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, and other unrecognizables. Read the labels!!!

12 Get Involved! Join BFBL-HR. Connect with like-minded people and discover sources for great local food. Volunteer with us to help spread the word at local events, farmers markets and by distributing our seasonal Food Guide. You’ll also find out about how you can get involved with our growing Farm-to-School and Farm-To-Feast programs.

With these simple rules of thumb, anyone can start making even the tiniest of efforts to help the local food movement. The first step can often be the hardest, and keeping with it isn’t always easy either, but the more our community (and the world) is aware of the cause, the easier it will be to bring local food from the farm to our tables.

For more information, visit www.buylocalhamptonroads.org or write us at bfblhr@gmail.com.