2014 Food Trends: Local, Healthy Options

When it comes to food trends in 2014, one thing is consistent no matter who you ask. First, people are starting to look local for their food as much as possible. This ties to the second thing – people are wanting healthier options. We’re going to take a look at some of the reasons this is important. Even if you’ve already made a New Year’s resolution, you might think about trying to eat healthier this year.

Local, Healthy Food for 2014

Here’s a look at some of the specific reasons people are starting to demand local and healthy food choices – a trend that is likely to continue for years to come.

  • Fresh Taste – One of the biggest reasons people are starting to look for more food locally has to do with taste. There’s nothing like eating something fresh out of the garden. If you’re buying food that was transported halfway across the country (or the world), it’s NOT going to have that fresh taste that you’ll get by buying local.

  • Better Prices – This isn’t always the case, but there’s a good chance you’re going to be able to save money by shopping locally as well. And even if you’re not able to save that much extra money, there are other reasons to eat locally grown food as much as possible.

  • Supporting Local – While Walmart may not be an evil corporation, they’re still very harmful to a lot of small mom and pop businesses – especially smaller grocery stores. By supporting local farmer’s markets and grocery stores, you’re going to be putting money back into your community.

  • Quality – Beyond being fresher, locally grown food is usually going to be higher quality. This is why some people don’t mind paying a little extra money every week when they go grocery shopping. If you enjoy eating, you can get a lot better quality if something doesn’t have to be shipped from far away.

Eating healthy is common sense for most people, but adding the local aspect to the equation is what really makes the difference. If you can get more of your food locally, there’s a higher chance you’re going to get something that’s fresh and healthy. Even if you don’t pay extra for organic foods, buying locally has many benefits when it comes to freshness.

Leave us your thoughts below if you’re trying to eat local and healthy in 2014. When it comes to eating right, you don’t have to settle for frozen foods delivered from hundreds or thousands of miles away. You might not be able to get all the foods you eat locally, but if you look you’re sure to find that you can get most of them.