in collaboration with north carolina state university, farmers, businesses and communities are pledging to spend 10 percent of their existing food dollars locally. since july 2010, 6803 people, along with 878 businesses have joined the initiative, spending a total of over $53 million locally.

residents of colorado are also taking a 10 percent pledge: 357 people and 37 businesses spent over $8 million on local food to date. as of september, the illinois stewardship alliance (isa) is kick starting a similar campaign focused on chefs, cooks and restaurant owners. illinois is an agricultural epicenter, yet more than 95 percent of food consumption in the state is imported from distant farms. meanwhile, according to the isa, seven out of ten consumers said they are more likely to go to a restaurant offering locally produced food.

_{originally submitted 12/19/2012}

the growing and transportation of mass-produced food is taking a toll on our environment. produce that you buy in your grocery store often travels more than a thousand miles to get there, many times it’s not even in season, and it is picked long before it’s ripe. this begs the question, does your food taste as good as it should, and is it as healthy as it could be? north carolina state university recently started the nc 10% campaign, an initiative to raise awareness about buying local food and to encourage north carolina residents to pledge online to spend more money locally. since its start in 2010, more than $28,000,000 has been spent on local foods, and that’s just from people and businesses who took the online pledge. if more north carolina residents and even more states got on board with this campaign and learned about where their food comes from, the quality of local farm land would improve and local economies would thrive.