Ten things we can all do to support a local food system
Supporting local food systems has an array of benefits: it can strengthen local economies and communities, aid local small-scale farmers, preserve聽open spaces, benefit the environment, and help聽ensure community farms will still be there聽tomorrow鈥� just to name a few.聽Food Tank聽highlights 10聽ideas to聽support local food systems.
Choose restaurants that source foods locally and support workers.聽Eating locally doesn鈥檛 have to stop when you leave your kitchen. Many chefs source at least some, if not all, of their ingredients locally. Try Sustainable Table鈥檚聽聽or the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United鈥檚聽. Alternately, go directly to restaurant websites and online menus, or call to speak with an employee to learn which of the restaurants in your neighborhood source foods from local farmers.
Embrace biodiversity.聽Find out which foods are your region鈥檚 specialties and try those rarer varieties. Instead of factory-farmed Broad Breasted White turkeys, for instance, find a heritage breed unique to your area and discover a wonderful array of new flavors. Choosing local varieties is not only good for the local food system, but also helps preserve genetic diversity. Slow Food鈥檚聽聽can help you discover聽what types of foods are unique to where you live.
Look for聽local brands in stores,听using resources like the Eat Well Guide.聽Buying locally produced items from grocery stores, sometimes in lieu of聽the farmers market, can ensure that local products stay on the shelves鈥攁nd may lead to grocers stocking聽even more options. If you don鈥檛 want to offend your farmer, make sure to emphasize that you still love the farm鈥檚 products, and will continue your support by purchasing his or her wares at your neighborhood food stores.
Make suggestions.聽If your local supermarkets don鈥檛 stock locally-sourced foods, ask. Tell your friends to ask, too. Store owners want to provide customers with in-demand products, and respond well to consumer suggestions. If there is enough call for local products, owners will be more likely to bring these items into stores.聽
Plan your menus around what鈥檚 being harvested.聽Even if everything you buy isn鈥檛 produced in your community, you still contribute to the local聽food system by building seasonal foods into聽your recipes.聽In colder months, swap the heat-loving聽聽in pesto for a winter green like聽听辞谤听. Switch the peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes in your聽聽for broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts in fall.
Preserve.聽If you live somewhere with cold winters, you may not have many local produce options for a good portion of the year. Make eating locally easier during these less bountiful months by buying up products you love while they鈥檙e in season and preserving them鈥�,听,听,听, and聽聽are a few common methods.
Sign up for聽听(颁厂础)聽to receive a share of fresh produce from a local farm, usually on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. To join, customers pay a farmer for shares at the beginning of the season. This is extremely helpful for producers, as farms incur聽many of the costs associated with farming聽before the season even begins鈥攍ike buying and planting seeds, or paying workers to prepare the land. Additionally, by joining a CSA, you share in the inherent risks of the agricultural season, helping to guarantee farmers the necessary financial support each growing season.
Try the less popular crops that are necessary for healthy soil and a successful farm.聽Dan Barber, renowned chef and author, explains in the聽聽that by 鈥渃elebrating the All-Stars of the farmers market鈥攁sparagus, heirloom tomatoes, emmer wheat鈥攆arm-to-table advocates are often guilty of ignoring a whole class of humbler crops that are required to produce the most delicious food.鈥� Rotating in the more modest beans and聽mustard seed creates the fertile soil required for high-demand crops.聽When unable to sell these less popular foods, farmers must dedicate the crops to聽alternative聽purposes, such as animal feeds, and lose profits. Talk to farmers and learn which supporting crops their land needs, then incorporate these different foods into your diet.
Volunteer.聽Many small-scale farms can use a little extra help with a variety of tasks around the property. Volunteering at a local farm can enable you to learn more about your local agriculturalist and the work they do every day, while building lasting relationships聽and giving聽back to your local food system. There are international organizations鈥攕uch as聽聽(WWOOF)鈥攖hat facilitate volunteering on sustainable farms, as well as social activism organizations鈥攕uch as聽鈥攖hat provide volunteering opportunities. Alternatively, speak to the farmers at your local market to find an outfit聽in need of assistance.
