1. Shop at your local farmers market each week for real fresh, local, organic food from the land.
2. Put a face on your food. Get to know your farmer and ask if he has a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. If so, sign up! I love my CSA. Each spring, I kindly send you a nominal fee ($ 250). In return, I get 18 weeks of delicious and nutritious locally grown organic food. This is the way to follow! You can’t buy organic, local, and seasonal food for a month at your local grocery store for less than $ 250 a month. Click here to find a local market in your area.
3. Help your pocketbook and your waistline by growing your own food. For 10 cents worth of seeds, you can grow products worth more than a dollar. Start with a small pot of herbs or tomatoes. If you’re feeling more adventurous, invest in an Earth Box. Or get it right and have the experts at Teich Garden Systems install it with some raised beds.
4. Join Slow Food USA. Its motto / mission / philosophy is: “Slow Food is good, clean and fair food. We believe that the food we eat must taste good; that it must be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health. .; and that food producers should be fairly compensated for their work, and that all people should have access to these good, clean foods “
5. Eat carefully and be mindful of the foods you eat. Ask yourself: Where did my food come from? Was this animal treated fairly? Is my food organic or are there hundreds of harmful pesticides sprayed on my food? How many miles did my food travel to get to my plate? If you are eating a coconut or a pineapple, you could have traveled over 2,000 miles!
6. Be grateful for your food. Take a few minutes when you sit down to eat and enjoy a few deep breaths with your eyes open or closed and connect with your food. Give thanks to the rain, the sun, the earth, and all the hands that made your food possible, from the farmer to the trucker to the produce manager to the store inspector. Chew slowly and consciously.
7. Try a 30-day challenge to eat locally. This September I am interested in leading a group in a local eating challenge. Are you interested? Let’s do it! Read more about being a localvore.