Many people would love to buy organic foods from the markets and grocery store but they have a budget for food that doesn’t allow it. One great idea though is grow your own fresh fruits and vegetables in your home, and this is a great way to ensure that you are growing your own foods. You can create a wonderful garden with more than 5 baskets of fresh produce going to your local farmer’s market.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re completely new to gardening or have been doing it for years, it is a great time to learn. Try to think of things that you can grow in your garden, and as you move forward with the planning, you will find that you have a huge array of choice.
Planning & startup costs
+ Much slower growing period + Many more produce choices + Less space in the garden = More variety of produce grown in your garden = Less expense in the long run
What you’ll also notice is that you will have a lot more produce to eat. This is because you were only able to grow what you could eat, while the bulk of the produce was in the form of fruits and vegetables. You will notice that you will also be able to use a lot more of your garden for food storage.
This will not only save you money, but it is also a great strategy to help you save space in the home. New gardeners often spend weeks or months building a garden that is centered around just tomatoes, and maybe some carrots at the very beginning. Having a garden of produce is easy said, but getting the garden set up to support much more produce is a time consuming process.
Supporting Your Community
Farms are businesses that support local community, and many farmers markets are community supported directly. By supporting the local community, you are supporting farms and saving money at the same time. A recent study done in Ohio finds that many eating facilities help boost the local economy, and help people to eat better and healthier foods. If you don’t support local agriculture, you may not be able to enjoy a wide variety of foods.
While most people are happily buying organic foods from their local farms, going to your local supermarket and supporting the farmers there seems like a really easy solution. Unfortunately, supporting local farmers requires a bit more effort than a neighborhood green light, but the benefits are myriad. You support U.S. grown products, and you boost the economy by ensuring that your food is fresher and healthier. When you buy local, you fight poverty and environmental degradation because you’re making a difference in your local community.
Local communities are fighting for their future health and their communities because local businesses are fighting for their future profits. We should all thank localism for at least some of the benefits of global capitalism.
Some local foods are picked by hand, but many are raised in assembly-line factories. These factories use massive amounts of pesticides and other chemicals, and the proximity of these toxic chemicals is known to contribute to increases in asthma, cancer, and leukemia.
By supporting local business, you support family farms and local retailers. When you buy local, you signal to businesses that you care about your community, and you support sustainable agriculture practices. While you may not know the specific details of every farm and farm stands, look for the local farmers and workers at the fair trade markets, and encourage your local grocery stores to start using local foods.
Local farmers and farm stands are not your only options when it comes to buying local. You can also buy organic at large retail chains, and even at many warehouse member stores. Grassroots organizing campaigns are on the rise in many different countries, and now involve large movement movements of people demanding fair trade and ethical standards.
If you are interested in learning more about food, farming, and living the ‘going local’ lifestyle, check out the links below. Living the Good Food Guide: Tips on how to eat right for the planet.
