Within recent years, many restaurants have become increasingly aware of the value of choosing local ingredients whenever possible. While sourcing food from their local community benefits the restaurant, it also helps patrons, the environment, and farmers. So, what makes it important to seek out locally-sourced ingredients as often as possible? Heavenly Island Lifestyle Cafe, a local restaurant with a diverse, wholesome menu in Honolulu, HI, explains below.

5 Reasons to Choose Local Ingredients

1. Support Local Economy

When you choose to dine in restaurants that purchase ingredients from local suppliers, you’re also sustaining area farmers. By reinvesting money in nearby businesses, you can help support a thriving community, economy, and job market.

2. Enjoy Richer Flavors

Locally-grown crops are picked when they’re at their peak ripening stage. Because shipping times are as brief as possible, there’s less time between harvest and meals, allowing you to enjoy the richest possible flavors. Imported food, on the other hand, must be picked before it’s ripe, which can limit flavor profiles.

3. Receive More Nutrients

Shorter transportation times also allow consumers to reap the greatest nutritional benefits. Imported food is typically older and has lost some of its nutrients. Therefore, even healthy picks like fruits and vegetables are less rich in essential vitamins and minerals if they’ve been shipped. 

4. Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

With a decreased need for transportation, you play a part in reducing environmental pollution when you choose local ingredients. Additionally, supporting local farmers means you can minimize reliance on corporate farming that uses pesticides heavily. 

5. Limit Safety Concerns

The more steps between sourcing and consuming food, the more potential sources of contamination it could encounter. Shipping and distributing fruits, vegetables, and meats makes them more vulnerable to safety hazards like bacteria that causes E. Coli, salmonella, and more. 

Heavenly Island Lifestyle Cafe features organic and local ingredients in every instance possible on their vast menu. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, the restaurant also offers an array of healthy smoothies and indulgent beverages like mojitos and mimosas. You can view their menu online now, or call (808) 923-1100 to learn more.