9 Ways to Support Sustainable Food
All Across the country, people are creating healthy, vibrant, sustainable, and local food systems. Help change the food system in your area in the following ways:
1. Start your own garden (and raise your own chickens for eggs). For urban gardening advice, see our interview with "Garden Girl" Patti Moreno.
2. Make your own organic soil. See our how-to articles on composting for more.
3. Eat local and organic. Join a CSA, buy from farmers' markets, and visit locally owned restaurants. Find them at LocalHarvest.org.
4. Close the loop. If you want to get organic waste for your farm or used vegetable oil to power your car, contact growingSOUL to see if you can form a relationship with a loal Chipotle Mexican Grill: 301/537-7422, growingsoul.org.
5. Join a local food club. Google "organic food delivery" or "local food club" to fin a service near you. Foothills Connect sells its software to any groups interested in replicating their Farmers Fresh Market Initiaitive to bolster local farmers: 828/288-1650, FarmersFreshMarket.org.
6. Eat less meat, more veggies. Reduce your personal climate emissions and care for animals. Consider becoming a vegetarian or vegan, if you aren't already.
7. Involve children. EarthWorks staff are happy to share the curricula they've developed for their Growing Healthy Kids program. Contact earthworks at cksdetroit dot org. (Use the subject line "Education Coordinator -- Curriculum.")
8. Volunteer with a sustainable farm or food justice organization. Find one at LocalHarvest.org.
9. Invest in good food. Community investing organizations offer vehicles that support the creation of small, local businesses -- including organic farms, grocers, and restaurants -- as well as healthy food systems. Check out one new program from the Calvert Foundation, and find more in our Community Investing Guide.