The Reeves Family Farm has begun planting! The G Texas Catering Culinary team loves to utilize fresh, local produce from Reeves Family Farm to create delicious, nutrient-rich meals at events in Dallas. As one of the largest event caterers in the Dallas area, we order and prepare hundreds of thousands of pounds of food every year – we owe it to our clients and our community to ensure that our operation is environmentally-friendly and sustainable.
Why are we so happy about Spring/Summer harvest at the Reeves Family Farm?
Eating local is good for us all. “Local” can mean that you get your food from farms that are close by you, but it could also mean going to the farmer’s market and buying from the farmer you can chat with every Saturday morning, or growing your own food in your backyard.
As people are becoming more aware of the food/health connection, more are asking questions about where their food comes from. Highly processed foods may be convenient, but the health benefits can’t compare to fresh food. Likewise, many ask if their produce is local, but also if chemicals are used while it’s growing or after it is harvested. Knowing these things empowers you to make the best choices to eat healthy for a long and vibrant life. Buying from your local farmer is the best option to ensure your food is fresh, organic and at its maximum nutrient level.
Health Benefits to Buying Locally Grown Food
It’s best for food to ripen in its own time. This allows the fruit or vegetable to accumulate all the nutrients possible. Sometimes at the grocery store, you might see a tiny sticker on your fruit or vegetable indicating it was grown in a far-flung location. This little fruit or vegetable may have traveled a thousand miles or more just to get to your supermarket. Before it started its journey, it may not have been completely ripe when it was picked and therefore may have lost many nutrients during the long trek to you. A study in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry found that healthy nutrients in blackberries more than quadrupled as they became ripe. Take advantage of the enhanced nutrients by eating local produce.
It’s also best to eat food grown “in season” for optimum nutrition. There’s a reason plants grow when they do because that is the time nature allows it to grow to its potential. One study by Montclair State University found that broccoli grown out-of-season had just half the vitamin C as broccoli is grown in season. For the most nutrients and the most flavorful taste, in season fruit and vegetables are superior.
Environmental Benefits to Buying Locally Grown Food
You may have heard the word ‘sustainability’ used to describe farms. This term includes using the land for a common good and using farming practices that will enhance the land. Sustainability is about maintaining a farm long-term, with wise agricultural insight that keeps it producing year after year. Above all, sustainable farmers know how to plan and plant their crops in a way that refreshes the soil and ensures that the land will continue to be useful for crops. Let’s face it, everyone needs farms and farmers. No one wins if farms are divided up into homesteads or business areas. And of course, we all need the produce to keep us healthy.
Purchasing locally reduces food miles (the distance that food has traveled – from the place it was produced to where it will be sold). Reducing the food miles accumulated during transportations will lessen the number of fossil fuels consumed, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Eat organic every day! Fruit and vegetables produced without chemicals mean the produce is organic. A farmer must pay a fee to use the term Certified Organic so many smaller farmers don’t use the term even if they are using tried-and-true organic farming practices.
G Texas Catering is proud to use organic produce from local farms. Our local farmers are artists at working with nature and creating produce that we are proud to serve to you.