Our lives revolve around food, and where we get that food is more important than you think. Locally-sourced food refers to things that were made in Ontario, instead of being shipped across the country, or from overseas. Making use of local food isn't just good for yourself and the environment, it's also easy to do, with plenty of opportunities on-campus to eat local food. Here's why it's so important, with info from Green Living Online.
There's a ton of variety
When people think of locally-sourced ingredients, a common worry is that there's simply not a lot to choose from, and that you're limiting what you can make. That's not true, though. There's a wealth of locally-grown food in Ontario alone. Here's a list fruits from the Ministry of Agriculture, for example. In Ontario, you can get locally-sourced apples, grapes, peaches, pears, nectarines, cherries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, among other things. Speaking of strawberries, here's how to make strawberry shortcake biscuits courtesy of our School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts.
It's tastier and healthier
Locally-sourced food doesn't have to travel far to get to you, meaning it's both fresh and recently-harvested (we could be talking within 24 hours.) This is why it tastes better: It's new, and hasn't been on an overseas journey. There's also a health benefit to this, too. Freshly-harvested products start to lose nutrients fast, so the quicker you eat harvested food, the more nutrition you're getting from it.
You support your local farmer
It's a sad fact of life that family farming is on the decline. All you have to do is drive north of Toronto, and see how much farmland is being converted into housing. Luckily, buying locally-sourced food will directly help the farmers that are there stay in business, especially considering that you're cutting out the middleman.
You also support the environment
Farmland itself is good for the environment, with its fertile soil and clean water. After all, it's in a farmer's best interests to keep their land fertile and healthy. That land is also the perfect environment for wildlife to thrive, so by helping keep farmers in business, you're helping make the province itself a greener place.
You can buy locally-sourced meals on-campus
You might be wondering where you can actually buy locally-sourced food. The most common way is to find a farmer's market in Ontario. But there's a simpler way at Centennial College. Our Culinary Arts students have partnered with a food truck called Localista, which tours the campuses and offers a scrumptious menu based on locally-sourced food during the summer months. If you're looking for locally-sourced food on-campus year round, our Culinary Arts Centre at Progress Campus operates a new restaurant called The Local Restaurant, that serves globally-inspired dishes created with locally-sourced ingredients.
By Anthony Geremia