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BUY FRESH, BUY LOCAL Did you know that the average food item travels 1550-2480 miles in the U.S.? Imported food travels even further. A typical basket of 26 imported foods may have traveled the distance of six times around the equator. Centralized systems of supermarkets have taken over from local and regional markets. A crop of potatoes can be transported many miles to be packaged at a central depot and then sent many miles back to be sold near where they were produced in the first place. The ingredients used in the manufacture of processed and frozen food  travel around the country from factory to factory, before they make their way to the local supermarkets. It is important to buy locally grown food and to support local small and mid-size farms, both for the freshness and integrity of their produce and the economic and community benefits that result. A new State Farmers' Market is open in Jackson. For more details and for a list of Mississippi State Certified Farmers go to www.mdac.state.ms.us