Facts & Figures #9: Healthy Tufts, Healthy Planet

Did you know?

There are many reasons to buy food locally: higher nutritional value in fruits and vegetables that have spent less time between the tree, or the ground and your plate.

Something else to consider is that buying local food is an easy way to help the environment. If each US citizen consumed one meal a week made from just local, organically grown fruits and vegetables, we could save one million barrels of oil in that week.

Luckily, people are beginning to recognize the good they can do by purchasing produce from local farms. In 1970, as reported by the American Farmland Trust, there were only 340 farmers’ markets in the country, but by 2009 there were 5,274.

So take a trip over to the Tufts Farmers’ Market, every Wednesday through October 27th from 11:15 to 1 pm, at the lower patio behind the campus center. Make a delicious meal for yourself and your friends, and not only will you be doing your body a favor, but you’ll be doing your part to help the planet, too.

– Rose Barrett