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Locavore is the modern term employed to identify a person who chooses to eat as much of his or her diet from foods grown in the area where they live. Before high speed transportation and portable refrigeration, everyone was a locavore. Since food storage was very limited, it was important that you learned to eat seasonal foods. When you were able to get a surplus, vegetables and fruits were canned or preserved in some way. Gardens were considered essential to survival as was the raising of animals for meat.

For most people the pathway to become a locavore is difficult today because we are accustomed to eating what the local grocery stores stock. In order to become a locavore, it requires that people work to change the type of foods available in their community. Most locavores work hard to find and purchase products that are raised nearby. Locavores believe they are eating fresher healthier food, and they probably are.

Start the process of becoming a locavore by finding farmers markets doing business in your area. Almost all metropolitan areas have at least one excellent market where local growers can come and sell their products. This includes meat, vegetables, and fruits. The advantage of most of these markets is that the competition is heavy so the prices are kept at moderate levels. Sometimes you can even negotiate a lower price right on the spot.

During the various seasons, you need to shop these markets and stock up on local items. You can prepare them for freezing or canning or some other method of preserving. This will give you access to many local items even when the season passes. Commitment to your locavore principles will be easier to maintain if you have a steady source of desirable items.

Grow your own food. If you live in a city, this can be a little difficult to do in significant quantities, but you can still grow things like tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and depending on local codes, small animals. Growing your own food is satisfying and rewarding. It may not be a great cost savings, but it will serve to stretch the other local foods over a longer time period.

If you can join up with other locavores, use the power of the group to persuade local grocers to buy more of their products from local growers. Some stores already do this, but it is important that these wares be labelled as being from a local food source. This will allow locavores to make better selections when shopping.

Using the resources of a group, you can also network to locate more vendors

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