Shop at Your Local Farm

Imagine walking into a grocery store where each type of produce is given a 2.5-mile-long aisle. The blackberries wait to be plucked straight from the vine, and you can dig the potatoes of your choice out of the ground. You always get to choose how many you take home with you and the ones that suit your needs.

It may sound too good to be true, but that is exactly the option a consumer is given when he or she chooses to shop for fruits and veggies on a farm instead of at the local store. And, these days, more customers are sidestepping the likes of supermarket produce to go to a farm where they can pick the berries, broccoli and rutabaga of their choice.

Registered dietitian Ellie Krieger, author of The Food You Crave, says not only do consumers get better flavor and value at a local farm, but also they will reap the benefits of the excess nutrients derived from farm-fresh food. Krieger emphasizes that the closer a shopper can get to eating produce right off the vine or out of the ground, the healthier that food will be.

Picking your own produce can also be cheaper than shopping in a grocery store because farmers will not be adding transport and shipping costs into the price of your produce.

Want to become a locavore? Check out Local Harvest to find organic food grown close to your home! [CNN]