This article was written by Savannah McGuire, one of our farms co-managers.

It’s easy to not think much about where your food comes from. We shop at grocery stores where quality, quantity, and diversity of food options are abundant.

When you can even get meal kits delivered straight to your front door, it’s important to consider how our consumption habits influence the communities and the ecosystems where we live. Here are seven ways that you can contribute to a more environmentally sustainable food system:

1. Buying local means that the number of miles that your food travels is minimized, which can reduce the amount of fossil fuels required for transportation.

2. Consider reducing consumption of commercially produced animal products, or buy animal products that are sustainably raised (grassfed, pastured chicken, etc) if you can afford it.

3. When dining out, eat at restaurants that source ingredients from local farms.

4. Shop at your local food co-op and buy in bulk with your own containers to reduce plastic waste.

5. Consider minimizing consumption of products like chocolate, coffee, bananas, avocados, and other products that are usually imported from long distances.

6. Buy fewer packaged, processed foods (even if they say organic!). Make your own snacks and package them in reusable containers.

7. Grow your own garden or grow food in containers if you don’t have space.