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JillianCasacca GiovaniMarroquin AbbyPeltzer ZachParker ChasBrannon BuyingLocalinChico Have you ever looked at a piece of produce and thought about where it came from or the journey it made to get to you? Chances are it was either produced locally or imported from another location. While it is common knowledge as to what the importation of a product from an outside location is, itislessobviousastowhatconstitutesaslocal.MerriamWebstersDictionary,defineslocal as of, relating to, or characteristic of a particular place: not general or widespread. While this is a starting point, there is much more to the term local, including why it is important to modify your purchasesinordertobuylocalproductswhenfeasible. In order for a product to be deemed local, many things have to be taken into consideration. We believe that being local is not a black and white issue, but rather one that is classified on a spectrum. This spectrum encompasses the creation of all products and ranges from a product that is 100% imported, to a product where all parts are made, manufactured, and assembled in one general location without the use of outside inputs. Inputs include things such as machinery,seeds,vehicles,etc. If these components are imported from an outside location, and are used in theharvestorconstruction of the product, then the product would no longer be considered 100% local. The spectrum we have generatedforlocalityisasfollows:

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As displayed on this spectrum, products move further left the more local they are, and the fewerthenumberofproductsthatqualifybecome.Itisclearwhytherearealimitednumberofproducts that are considered 100% local. We have determined that products are considered more local, the greater the numbers ofparts created,assembled,andsoldinonearea.Wehavealsodeterminedarea in this sense, to mean county and neighboring counties. For example, a bag of strawberries grown in ButteCountywouldstillbeconsideredlocalifsoldinTehamaCounty. One exception to the definition we have established for area is when a governmentisspeaking to an entire country about locality. WhentheAmericangovernmentispromotingbuyinglocal, localisin reference to made in America, not specifically made in your county, or neighboring counties, of residence. One example would be the American government promoting local steel, meaning all steel made in the United States. In this instance, it would be acceptable to refer to the entire country as local. There are many factors that go into determiningthelocalityofaproduct,andprovingwhylocal products appear to be fewer and more expensivethanimportedproducts.But,thepayoff ofproducing and purchasing local products is worthwhile. The definition of local has been determined, but the importance of producing and purchasinglocalcanoftentimesbelessvisible.Themoreobvious benefits of buying local include having the knowledge of where the product was grown or made, or a combination of the two. Having this information helps to reassure the freshness of the purchased product, because in many cases produce or perishables are purchased locally. Knowing where the product was grown or made also helps to ensure the quality and integrity of the product for the

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consumer. Purchasing a product that has a high level of value and uniqueness is a desire of many consumers, thus the locality of a product often delivers this. Products purchased locallyare oftenmore valuable, custom, or unique. This is because they are generally notmassproduced,thusrequiringmore timeandcaretobespentoneachgood. There are a large number of hidden benefits of buying local in addition to the obviousbenefits. Of those include support of the local economies and business people. This helps the economy and business people because the money spent at local places will in turn be used to purchase other local products, redistributing the money in the community. Local businesses are also wellknown supporters of community activities (little league teams, local charities). For example, businesses such as ChicoBag have fundraisers, and educational resources for local schools. Additional benefits include the reduced amount of travel spent transporting the goods and products, requiring fewer resources and causing fewer environmental impacts. Some buy local campaigns have incorporated a solution that many Americans agree is an issue and that is job loss. By buying local, you are in essence helping to save jobs here inAmerica.Themoremoneyspentatlocalbusinesses,onlocalproducts,meansanincreased need for local workers thus providing local jobs. Thebenefitsofbuyinglocalaregreat,andaremore prevalentthemoreyouspendlocally. While the benefits of buying local seem endless, there are a few drawbacks. For example, the biggest complaint regarding buying local is the highercostsassociatedwithit.Becausetheproductsare not generally mass produced, and because they are not manufactured or assembled incountrieswhere labor is cheap, higher costs are generated. It has been questionedastowhetherbuyinglocalisastatus symbol or saved only for the elite those who can make the choice to spend more money on nonnecessities. In response, yes there are often higher prices attached to the products, but that is not

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always the case. Produceforexample,whenboughtatalocalfruitstand,cancostthesameorlessthan in a grocery store. This is due to the fact that they are not paying traveling to get their produce to a store, and they are generally not paying any advertising costs. With the traveling and advertising costs taken out of the equation, it is clear why certain products bought locally are not as expensive as when purchased in a typical grocery store. For products other than produce, the higher costs can bebattled by negotiating with the seller. This option is not feasible in situations where the price is set, but in a circumstance where the seller is also the producer of the good, there is more room for negotiation. Regardless, prices are typically higher and it is not practical to expect someone to purchase all things locally, but making a conscious decision to purchase locally when possible should be a goal of consumers. Additional potential downfalls of buying mostlylocalwouldbepotentially havingalimitedvariety and selectionofgoods.Thereis alsothepossibility agoodwouldhavealimitedsupply.Iftheproductis a consumable good, this limitedness is due to the nature of seasons and weather. If the good is nonconsumable it could be due to a limited amount of resources. But, in argument of this, when the produce is in season, it is more fresh and at the peak of ripeness when purchased and nonconsumable goods are more unique when purchased! Also, when produce is out of season, consumers have the ability to purchase goodsfromaregulargrocerystore.Whilethisisnotideal, itisa solution. Once we had determined an acceptabledefinitionforlocal,anddiscussedboththebenefitsand drawbacks of buying local, wehadto choosealocaltarget.Thelocal focusthatwechosewasonethat was an obvious pick as it is a wellknown characteristic of Chico, and that is the Chico Saturday Farmers Market. In order to get local, realworld feedback, weinterviewedfivelocalbusinesseson

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Saturday, December 7, 2013. The vendors at the market in which we interviewed included: Beans of Paradise, Daves Boxes, Hanks Art, Robs Natural Produce, and Chico Bakery. We were able to conduct these interviews with the owner ofeachbusiness.Oneoftheinitialquestionsthatwasaskedof our interviewees was what they considered local. This was the most varied response out of all the questions we asked, because each had a different definition of local, an issue that we believe to be widespread amongst producers as well as consumers. Their answers encompassed everything from a product that was put together, baked, or processed in the area anything that was made within 100 miles, 75 miles, or 25 miles and finally anything that was grown in the Sacramento Valley and within 100 miles. While they each had differing ideas of what constituted as local, they almost all considered themselves local, even the owner of Beans of Paradise although his beans are imported from other countries and only roasted here in Chico. Theonlyownerwhodidnotconsiderhimselflocalwas Hank from Hanks Arts because he said that he was from Oroville which made him a nonlocal to Chico. When asked if they wanted to stay local, the majority answered yes, except for the owner of Chico Bakery. His reasoning for not wanting to stay local was that they create healthy baked goods and alternatives (vegan and gluten free baked goods) in which they need to get their product out thereand educatepeopleabout. The most interesting answers from the interviews were stated in response to what the interviewees thought the benefits of the local farmers market were. The responsescomprisedallowing the consumers to know where their product came from, businesses were selfsustaining,bybeinglocal there were less chemicals, storage and processing required for the goods to go through, the market helps thelocaleconomy,savesfuelandtimefortheproducer,producersareabletoseetheircustomers more often, consumers cant find the same products in typical stores, and the products arefresherand

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more nutritious. The interaction between the producer and consumers was noted as one of the most cherished aspects of being a local vendor at the market. Also, of those that hadbeentoothermarkets agreedthatChicowasthebestmarketaround. An interesting social benefit that we had not considered before interviewing these vendorswas that the market gives people in the community a resource in which to socialize. It allows people within the community who have similar interests (like to buy/eat local, organic produce), but might not have otherwise met, to meet and get together once a week. As stated before, the market also allows producers and consumers to establish a relationship, which benefits both parties. Business owners are able to educate their customers about their product, and all of its benefits. It also provides further background abouttheproduct beingpurchasedmanyconsumerslikeknowingthehistoryandstoryof theproducttheyarebuying. The issue of limited variety, selection, and supply of goods was stated previously, but was contested in the interview with Robs Natural Produce. He specifically grows multiple varieties of produce (kale and lettuce were two that he mentioned in particular) in order to combat this issue. The different varieties adapt to the different seasonsandlocations,whileproviding varietyforhiscustomers. He also discussed large farms versus micro farms what he considers himself. Bigger farms trade quality for quantity. Whereas he focuses on the quality of his product, by practicing organic farming methods (this causes some profit and crop loss) and staying lowly mechanized. Some of the produce thathebringstothemarketcanbeasfreshlypickedasthenightbeforethemarket. Aside from talking to and interviewing vendors at the Saturday Farmers Market, we also emailed all members of the Chico City Council. Vice MayorSorensenrepliedtoouremailinwhichwe

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had questions that we asked him to answer. He had a very interestinganswertoourquestionWhatis your opinion on buying local versus buying fromchainstore?,inwhichhereplied,Thatisagreyarea. Yes, the argument is that a "chain" store siphons off some profits for distant administrative payroll and ownership. However, we havemany"LOCAL"goodpeoplewhooperatefranchisesandthelike.This is a position that we had notconsidereduntilgettingthefeedbackfromViceMayorSorensen, butisan important position to consider. Since we believe that buying local is important inordertosupportlocal business men and women, as well as to support local economies, it is important to factorinindividuals who are local business people with chain franchises. We believe that although they have a chain store, they are still local business people and they contribute to the local community, so we should make a pointtoshopatthesestoresandsupportthesebusinessownersaswell. AfterinterviewingindividualswhoaretherootoflocalproductsinChico,itisobviousastowhy the Chico Saturday Market and buying local is a advantageous to all members of the community. The benefits extend to all parties involved when buying local is the focus of purchasing habits. There is no doubt that people should focus their purchasing towards buying local products and supporting local business owners when possible. It is particularly important that the citizens of Chico take advantageof all the local purchasing opportunities aswehavethebestmarketastheownerofBeansofParadise declared at our fingertips. So the next time you look at a piece of produce, you will not have to wonderaboutwhereitcamefromandthejourneyitmade,becauseitwillhavebeenboughtlocally!