Getting Local Food Beyond the Coasts

In the recently released USDA study Direct and Intermediated Marketing of Local Foods in the United States there's a section dedicated to local food sales by region. Perhaps not surprisingly, the majority of local and direct-marketed food sales take place on the West coast and in the Northeast region (see map below). In this post I'll try to identify why this situation exists and some ideas for how it can be remedied.

Why is Local Food Concentrated on the Coasts?

 

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DIY Holiday Gifts - Mulled Wine Sachets

mulled wine, diy gift, sachet, spiced wineGot lots of craft and no cash? Got a farm to save for? Well, you're in good company! Scrapple and I have decided to make all of our gifts this season and over the next few days I'll be sharing a few of the goodies we'll be packing up for family and friends. First up - Mulled Wine Sachets. Scrapple's mulled wine has become the stuff of legends after being our holiday party go-to for the past 2 years. When it's cold outside, nothing beats a steaming cup of the good stuff - bring on the holiday cheer!
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First Time Farm Buyer's Checklist

If your barn looks like this, you might need some insurance... 
First time farm buying? We are. Heck, it’s pretty much the first time we’ve bought anything. We bought one car and a couple college educations, but that’s about it in terms of valuable assets, and only one of those is tangible. We don’t even have the car anymore. So buying a house and bunch of land was quite an experience. We won’t officially close until the end of next week, but everything is all lined up and now we just gotta show up and sign the dotted lines.

This type of stuff might be old-hat for many of our readers, but for all you out there wanting to buy a farm one day, here’s a few little nuances that might help: 
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