Eating food can either be a sterile, hurried act, offering little cause for joy – or a creative, spiritual act of connecting with other people, the earth – and thus with all of Creation.

It's harvest season in Western Massachusetts and everywhere I look I see wonderful local food products for sale.  We have vibrant farmers markets, colorful farm stands and productive farms in my region of the world.   And of course, I have my own very large garden that is producing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, blackberries, green beans, Asian pears, eggs, honey and more this time of the year.  So I am surely not objective when it comes to local food.  I think about it, talk about it, and participate in growing and buying local food whenever I can.

I've written in the past about the need to relocalize our food system to support democracy, to build a vibrant local economy, and to move us toward a more sustainable agriculture.  One might think I'd have nothing more to say about local food, but when I was asked recently to speak at celebration of local food in the nearby town of Granby, Massachusetts, I was moved to write yet another blog!   Here is the outline of what I said......

Shift Your Shopping encourages residents and businesses to make a "Shift" by buying from local independent businesses for the holiday season. Shift Your Shopping offers a simple, powerful way to boost our economy and preserve and create jobs in our local communities.

The campaign encourages residents to take job creation and economic concerns into their own hands by exercising their power to strengthen their own local economies. Numerous studies on the impact of buying from local independent business have found impressive benefits. For example, a 2008 study of Kent County Michigan by Civic Economics projected shifting 10% of the county's per capita spending from chains to locally-owned independent businesses would create "almost $140 million in new economic activity and 1,600 new jobs for the region."

To exemplify how a shift in shopping is a gift to our community, PVLF and its members have partnered with Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) in a Think Local Thank Local effort to donate a portion of their sales during National Buy Local Week, November 25th through December 4th, to CISA's Emergency Farm Fund to assist those farmers who were affected by Tropical Storm Irene.

There is a growing list of members who are participating in the Pioneer Valley Local First Think Local, Thank Local campaign to help fund local farmers.  Check out the full list here.