Promoting the trend of buying local has become very prevalent throughout the country as of late, and for good reason. We all know that decreasing our carbon footprint is better for the environment, eating whole foods keeps you healthy and keeping money in the local economy is the fastest and easiest way to support the community in which you live.
But what does it really mean to commit to buying local ingredients? For us here at Fresh Picked Pantry, it means spending time going to wholesale farmer’s markets (yes, sometimes at 4am!) to meet the producers that will supply us with our base ingredients. It means hours upon hours of recipe testing to find delicious flavor combinations while staying in the limits of what’s offered in season. Sadly, sometimes it means not having enough products available due to unpredictable weather conditions.
Would it be easier to buy from large, corporate farms in California and be guaranteed consistent and cheaply subsidized produce? Probably. Would it be faster to write recipes that include chemical preservatives so we wouldn’t have to spend time making our products naturally shelf stable? Absolutely.
But we choose to not take these shortcuts because we truly believe that at the end of the day (or at the bottom of an empty jar of sauce), our product is so excellent because of our dedication to fresh and local ingredients without any added preservatives, ever. So we’ll continue to make the commitment to support these small, local farms.
And every time you purchase a jar of our sauce, you’re supporting them, too. 
