In the local food movement, consumers known as “locavores” commit to eating foods that are grown or raised close by — often within a 100-mile radius of their homes. Doing so cuts down on the pollution caused by transporting food over greater distances. Eating locally grown produce also helps to keep money in a community’s economy. Plus, fresh food just tastes better, say many locavores.

Sound like too much work? Eating local may be easier than you think.

Some of your favorite foods are probably already being grown and raised in your area.

If apples and herbs don’t excite you, remember that meat and dairy are also raised and produced throughout the country, meaning that you can hang on to your butter and bacon. And if you’re in Virginia, you can’t live very far from a winery or microbrewery.

There’s even a locavore app for the iPhone that helps you to locate farmers’ markets in your area as well as in-season fruits and vegetables.

Visit www.itunes.com to purchase the app, or visit www.buylocalvirginia.org or www.eatlocalchallenge.com to learn more about foods grown in Virginia.