Why Buy Local?
As members of the Thurston County food community, we make personal decisions each day that affect and define the unique character of our county. This is particularly apparent when it comes to choosing how and where we spend our money. Every dollar spent is the equivalent of a vote for the goods and services that we purchase. So...what are we voting for?
Purchasing a CSA share, buying flowers at the Farmers Market, or picking strawberries at a local farm are all actions that positively impact our community. When we spend our dollars at local farms we vote for:
Economic Sustainability
A dollar spent at a local farm or business will circulate within the community many times over. “Direct Sales” means that the farm receives 100% of each dollar spent on its products. Other farmers can expect to see as little as 18 cents or less for a dollar spent on their products at a large chain store.
Flavorful, Fresh & Nutritious Food
The next time strawberries are in season in Thurston County, compare their mouthwatering taste to California strawberries. Local food tastes better! It is fresher and more nutritious. The faster food goes from farm to plate, the fewer vitamins and nutrients are lost.
Environmental Health
The average bite of food has traveled 1800 miles before reaching our mouths, contributing to atmospheric carbon dioxide leading to global warming, depletion of non-renewable fossil fuels and increasing dependence on foreign oil. Farm goods purchased from local sources travel short distances using minimal fossil fuels.
Diversity of Choice
We can choose among many farms when it comes to purchasing local farm products. They vary in their agricultural practices, the items they produce and how they treat their workers. You decide where to spend your money and your own standards for the products you buy. The average grocery store seems to have an overwhelming array of choices. In truth, a few huge corporations own the vast majority of food products, and as breadmakers and garlic connoisseurs can attest, the variety that makes it to the shelves and produce aisles is actually very limited.
Local Control
The community has tremendous power over the environmental, social and economic standards of local agriculture, because these farmers directly rely on us for their support. We can stop by and converse face-to-face. By buying local, we can take back control of our food supply from increasingly consolidated corporations that are responsible almost solely to their shareholders.
Fun!
Visiting farms and developing relationships with those who grow the food and other agricultural products you depend on, is a fun and richly rewarding experience!
Home
Farm Map
The Farms
Seasonality Guide
Why Buy Local?
How to Buy Local
Product Guide
Sponsors
Contact Us
Thanks!
1: The Farm
2: The Perennial Gardener
3: Carr's Organic Blueberry Farms
4: GRuB Farm
5: Olympia Farmers Market
6: Wiser Worm
7: The Evergreen State College Organic Farm
8: Calliope Farm
9: Common Ground CSA Farm
10: Four B's Farm
11: Oyster Bay Farm
12: Steamboat Island Goat Farm
13: Schilter Family Farm
14: Pigman's Organic Produce Patch
15: Backacher's Emu Ranch
16: Pixie Honey Company
17: Daisy Chain CSA
18: Johnson Berry Farm Certified Organic
19: Spooner Farms
20: Lattin's Country Cider Mill & Farm
21: Tumwater Town Center Farmers Market
22: Kirsop Farm
23: Willow Creek Lavendar Farm
24: Left Foot Organics
25: Clyde'n Dale's Holiday Trees & Gifts
26: Endicott Farm
27: Stoney Plains Organic Farm
28: Heritage Homestead Farm
29: Alpacas of America
30: Scatter Creek Nurseries
31: Happy Hen Farm
32: Helsing Junction Farm
33: Rising River Farm
34: Wobbly Cart Farming Collective
35: Cottage Industries Northwest
36: Spring Creek Farm
37: Morning Dew Farm
38: Scatter Creek Farm
39: Boistfort Valley Farm
40: Winlock Meadows Farm
41: Yelm Earth Worm & Castings Farm
42: Chehalis - Community Farmers Market
43: Let Us Farm LLC
44: Stillwater Farm
45: Greenman's Garden
46: Provisions CSA Mushroom Farm
Sponsors
Fertile Ground Guest House
Gordon's Garden Center
Kipert's Korner Feed
The Barn and Great Western Supply
Olympia Farmers' Market
Olympia Food Co-op
Olympia Supply Co. Hardware
Suzanne Shafer Realtor
Olympia Federal Savings
Community Farmers Market