Sustainable Food Teach-Out
Take community or political action
3 minutes
There are all sorts of ways that you can contribute to and be involved your community. One of the best ways is to just start meeting the people already involved in food systems in your area. Here are a few ideas.
Get involved with your community.
Find people in your community already interested and working in food systems.
Volunteer with organizations that work to redirect food waste to those facing food insecurity, e.g., Food Gatherers.
Advocate for city- or county-wide composting programs so that you can put your compost out on the curb every week along with the trash and recycling. The Composting Council has developed a comprehensive report on how to address legislative action regarding composting in one’s community. This EPA composting site also addresses the composting permits, regulations, and laws of each state within the United States.
Visit and volunteer local parks, churches, or community centers that might have community garden plots available.
You can also check databases online, like the American Community Garden Association, that might offer some assistance in finding community gardens nearby.
Contact your state and local representatives.
Let your representatives know you support programs that:
Improve access to local, organic produce through school lunch programs.
Support farmers by providing education on sustainable farming practices by increasing funding to the extension service and universities with agriculture schools.
Support local initiatives for schools, hospitals, prisons, businesses, and cities to make contracts with farmers to supply their cafeterias with sustainable, plant-based food. This PDF about what Los Angeles County has done to increase access to fruits and vegetables for its residents is one example.
Contact your federal representatives about agriculture policy.
Call, email, or write a letter to your elected representatives. Potential issues to discuss:
Reduce meat subsidies.
Start funding programs so that they encourage people on food assistance to choose plant based organic foods. For example, see the United States Department of Agriculture’s Women, Infants, and Children Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program.
Add subsidized loans for small-scale organic and conservation oriented farmers and increase financial incentives for farmers to shift to no-till and other practices that retain and build soil, keeping carbon in the ground.