Posted May 22, 2009
* Plant lettuce in a window box. Lettuce that you grow yourself does not have to be transported from farm to grocer to home, burning fuel. A home garden can be as simple as a window box and as elaborate as a carefully designed urban plot, (kitchengardeners.org)
* Boycott meat from Confined Animal Feeding Operations. Anything that comes shrink-wrapped in the grocery store is from a CAFO unless otherwise noted. (Union of Concerned Scientists, ucsusa.org)
* Urge members of Congress to create a farm bill that separates nutrition programs from funds for agribusinesses, so that a sustainable farm program can be developed. (Bread for the World, bread.org)
* Buy from a local farmer or a farmers market, receive home delivery of local and organic food, or sign up for a share of produce from a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. Find a CSA near you by going to localharvest.org/csa. (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, sare.org)
* To offset the cost of paying more for responsibly produced food, plan and plant a garden at your church, local school, or in your community. Fresh fruits and vegetables can be donated to a local food bank, distributed by church members or used by a soup kitchen. Denver Urban Gardens has models on its Web site: dug.org. (farmtoschool.org)
* Take the 100-mile challenge- eat only food available from your region. (100milediet.org)
* Request local food from your local restaurants and supermarkets. Sustainable Table has cards you can print out to give to store managers, (sustainabletable.org)
Date: May 20, 2009