Buy local – it’s something I am constantly reminded to do, especially when I was living in Asheville (if you didn’t have some sort of “Buy Local” bumper sticker on your Subaru and/or Prius, you were a nobody). But it’s also something that I truly believe is the right thing to do.

This week, Debbie, Clairemont’s newest and awesome summer intern, and I took a trip to the Raleigh Downtown Farmers Market. It was there that we had a chance to marvel over the (very) fresh fruits and veggies (since they’re local), hormone-free beef and poultry, specialty cheeses and free-range eggs, fresh cut flowers, artisan baked goods and cookies and cupcakes. Did I mention cupcakes? Good thing I forgot my cash this time – I would have been in trouble!

But in all sincerity, there are quite a few benefits of buying at your local farmers market, and I would like to share them with you. Sustainable Table put it simply and beautifully when they wrote, “There are countless reasons why buying local food is both rewarding and delicious, including enjoying the taste of fresh food, improved health and nutrition, environmental stewardship, support for family farms and rural communities and ensuring animal welfare.”

Need more convincing? Check out local nonprofit the Abundance Foundation or just head over to the farmers market and see it for yourself! The downtown market is hosted every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in City Plaza, a pretty hip central location downtown (Flava Flav himself strutted his stuff in City Plaza during Hopscotch). And if you go, be sure to tell us what you think!