locavore

American  

[loh-kuh-vawr, ‑-vohr] / ˈloʊ kəˌvɔr, ‑ˌvoʊr /

noun

1. a person who makes an effort to eat food that is grown, raised, or produced locally, usually within 100 miles of home.

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Etymology

Origin of locavore

loca(l) + -vore, on the model of carnivore, herbivore; coined in 2005 by Jessica Prentice (born 1968), American chef, author, and cofounder of Three Stone Hearth, a community-supported kitchen in Berkeley, California

Explanation

A locavore is someone who tries to limit their diet to food that was grown nearby. Locavores who live in Vermont, the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S., might use the sweet syrup instead of sugar as a sweetener. A restaurant with a menu that explains exactly where each locally grown item of food came from is a dream for locavores. They do their best to eat fruit, vegetables, dairy, and meat that come from local farms. A locavore who lives near the coast might also include fish, shellfish, seaweed, and sea salt in their diet. The California chef Jessica Prentice is given credit for coining locavore in 2005 from local and the Latin vorare, "devour."

Example Sentences

This dish, colored with saffron and perfumed with warm spices, was inspired by a meal I recently enjoyed in Rafidi’s luxuriously updated restaurant, and shares his locavore approach.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025

Roman's invasivorism idea took a while to catch on, but eventually it started gaining traction — thanks, in part, to the locavore movement that started to emerge around 2005.

From Salon • Jul. 20, 2023

The locavore movement has gone global, with more restaurants basing their menus on the seasons and harvests of nearby farms.

From Washington Post • Jul. 15, 2022

The town is an ideal jumping-off point for a long weekend to wander the trails, beaches, swimming holes and locavore delights along the strait to Port Renfrew.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 24, 2022

Lots of craft bakers talk about growing local-grain economies, using grains harvested and milled a relatively short distance from their ovens — the locavore ethos applied to baking.

From New York Times • Oct. 25, 2021