#1) Buy local - This is true for nearly everything, and I can't say it enough. Buying locally as much as possible helps to keep money in your community, which in turn supports independent business owners and keeps cash out of greedy corporate hands. It enables your neighbors to support themselves and their families in a trade that they have chosen for themselves, whether it be a hardware store, mechanic, grocery, restaurant, sports outfitter or other business. Often, you are supporting somebody's life dream in entrepreneurship. Who wouldn't feel good about that?! Just try to make conscious decisions to shop at independently owned businesses or co-ops, if there is the choice to do so. It may not always be the most convenient choice, but the payoff comes in peace of mind and establishing a positive relationship with business owners in your own back yard.
#2) Request businesses to buy local - It always helps to voice your desires, concerns and opinions. Most businesses want to please their customer base and will be accommodating to requests, especially if there are multiple requests from people in the community. It could be as simple as asking your favorite restaurants to try sourcing their fruits, veggies, meats and/or cheeses, locally or asking your baker where they get their eggs and flour from. My partner and I recently moved in next to a liquor store and when we asked the owner if they would be willing to order a specific beer that we like, they had it within a week and stock it regularly for us. Make sure you reach a manager, (or better yet, the owner), and use what ever method of communication works best for you. Talk to them in person, email, make a phone call or - in the case of some businesses - leave a request on the community bulletin board. If they don't respond, keep asking!
#3) Buy organic - This is about as simple a concept there is in terms of global health. Industrial farms, which generally grow GMO foods, are one of the largest contributors of air and water pollution in the world, are perpetuators of rapid soil erosion and sterilization, and in some cases, responsible for depleting the water table. Buying organic food, albeit generally more expensive, is the only way to truly vote for more healthy and sustainable farming methods - with your wallet! Keep in mind that organic practices do not always mean a pricy grocery bill. Farmers Markets and CSA's supply whole sale food, generally grown with sustainable practices, even if the farmers aren't certified organic.
#4) Financially support small sustainable farms - Speaking of Farmers Markets and CSA's... small, sustainable, organic farms are on the upswing in the United States as a larger majority of people are starting to care about their food, where it comes from and how it's grown. There are a number of ways these farms depend on their local community to thrive and continue to supply the healthy foods they are so dedicated to producing. The more we as consumers support them, the more successful farms of this nature there will be. If you want to be more involved with your food and local community you might want to head to a local market or try a CSA, (Community Supported Agriculture). CSA's are a way to invest in your food upfront. It's essentially signing up for a summer, (usually), membership to a farm and then getting a weekly delivery of all the good things that are growing in season. There is also an uprise in agro-tourism, which translates to recreational activities set in rural and agriculturally-based environments. Farm stays are becoming quite popular and really scale up the Bed & Breakfast experience by providing food grown on the farm and often allowing interaction and/or help with farming activities and chores. You can also support professional and creative endeavors through crowd funding to enable farmers to accomplish goals that will ensure a more successful business. Kickstarter is a big one and I just happen to have some pals down in Iowa who are running a Kickstarter called Farm Table Delivery to fund a new refrigerated truck for their farm-to-table delivery service called Farmtable Procurement. Ellen and her husband Daniel run a farm in Harlan, IA with their small child in tow and they are dedicated to getting local, organic and sustainable food from local farms out to a greater community in the Omaha/Southwest Iowa area. And aren't they just adorable???
If they succeed it means that they will have a better shot as successful entrepreneurs and will also enable many more farmers in their area to deliver fresh goods from point A to point B - namely, from their farms to the places that will buy their products, such as restaurants, grocery stores and even school cafeterias.
Kickstarter and other crowd funding sites are great because they allow backers - a.k.a you - to fund as much or as little as they like. It can be as little as one dollar or thousands of dollars, and there are usually small rewards for pledging. The larger idea is to share the goal and get as many backers as possible. If the goal is reached, the project is funded. If it isn't, pledgers aren't charged anything. The Farm Table Delivery project is only 3 days from their deadline and well over half-way to meeting their goal. Even if you're not local to the Omaha/Southwest Iowa area, you would really be helping out a couple of hard-working families trying to make some positive changes. Besides, the more crowd funded projects like this succeed, the more likely we are to see more of them in our own back yards!
#5) Get the word out! Talk to others - friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, members of your church, anyone and everyone! It's amazing to me how just a little bit of friendly conversation directed at the healthier choices you are making for yourself can influence people to think a little more outside the box and - sometimes - even change their entire life-style. Last fall I learned a lot about the world of agriculture during my stay on an Iowa farm. When I came back, I found that I can't help but to share my excitement with everyone I meet and what I have ultimately found is that a lot of folks I've been talking to have made not just small changes in how they think about and purchase food, but drastic changes. Knowledge really is power and it's an easy thing to share!
