It has never been easier to buy local and eat local in the Columbus Metro area. The Grow Eat Ohio guide is focused on food and farmers markets local to the Central Ohio community.
 
Buying local and eating local benefits your family and the community in many ways, including:
  • Access to fresher, more wholesome foods
  • Greater variety of foods
  • Support of local farmers and businesses
  • Support of the Columbus and Central Ohio economy
And with Produce PERKS, Central Ohio’s Farmers’ Market Incentive Program, fresh, locally-produced fruits and vegetables can be affordable for all Central Ohio families.
 

 

Healthy Food Systems

Click here for the complete guide, Healthy Food Systems: Learning about Food, Ohio's Educational Resource, to learn about food-related programs offered by OSU Extension across the state. 


 

Toolkit: The Economics of Local Food Systems

The USDA Local Food System Toolkit provides detailed guidance in seven modules to measure and assess the expected economic impacts of local food investments. Using real-world projects, experiences, and applied research, it provides grounded, credible, and useable assessment methods. The Local Food System Toolkit can be used by policy makers, community leaders, private businesses or foundations to offer specific estimates that will help them decide whether to invest in initiatives that increase local food activity.

On-going resources:

  • Finding local farms, buyers, or restaurants that purchase/serve local foods, visit Ohio MartketMaker
  • Finding farms in and around Ohio that sell directly to the public through local farmers' markets, CSA's, and on-farm sales, visit OEFFA's Good Earth Guide
  • Ohio Proud is a resource for indentifying local farms and food producers

USDA Local Food Directories

Local and regional food systems, including farmers markets, are one of USDA's four key pillars to revitalize rural economies and improve access to fresh, healthy food for millions of Americans. Four USDA Local Food Directories are now available online to give potential customers, business partners and community planners easy, one-stop access to the most current information about sources of local foods. The four directories are: National Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) Enterprise Directory, National Food Hub Directory, National On-Farm Market Directory, and National Farmers Market Directory.

Farm Science Review 2020 Raising Backyard Chickens

Watch Sabrina Schirtzinger's, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Educator, Knox County, informative video on raising backyard chickens here. Make sure to check your city ordinance before purchasing any livestock.