By Kimber Foreman

Sustainable Woodstock’s Billings Farm Community Garden at grows produce for the Woodstock Community Food Shelf. 

What does it mean to eat sustainably? The answer is different for everyone – some people focus on how far their food has traveled to reach them, others on the foods that compose their diet, and others still on specific certifications like organic or fair-trade. Honestly, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

As you try to find your answer, here are some aspects of sustainable food choices to consider:

• Food miles
  • Thinking about the carbon footprint of the food you purchase is a wonderful introduction to food sustainability for many people. Vermont supports a robust local food system, and focusing on producers close to home can keep transportation emissions low, support in-season eating habits that in turn facilitate low-impact growing, and help keep local sustainable producers in business. Despite acting as a great starting point, there’s some disagreement among food system experts about the environmental impact that reducing food miles alone can have.
• Point of purchase
  • There’s more to eating local and keeping your dollars local than choosing products labeled VT-grown. Try buying directly from your favorite producers at farmer’s markets, farm stands, butchers, and bakeries. When you can’t buy directly from a producer, try shopping at a local market or co-op. When you can buy directly from the source – try having a chat with the people working! Developing relationships with food producers doesn’t just build community, keep your dollars local, and support businesses that likely minimize stocking questionably sourced products – it can also provide insight into their sustainability practices.
• Growing practices
  • One of my favorite pros to being able to chat directly with the folks that work for local farms at farmer’s markets and in farmstands? Getting the chance to understand their growing practices beyond whether they have an organic label or not. Organic labeling can be a helpful guide, but some smaller producers choose not to pursue a certification because it doesn’t make financial sense for their farm or because they believe focusing on other environmental practices will benefit their land more greatly. Local farmers may even take their sustainability practices further, venturing into regenerative agriculture or permaculture in the ways they can. Have a chat with them, and find growers that align with your values.
• Labor practices
  • Another perk of knowing your farms is knowing your farmworkers – are they supported by the employer you’re buying from? When people doing the hard work of growing your food aren’t supported well, the land suffers too. Responsible farm practices often require more work, and farmworkers that are well taken care of can more reasonably utilize their energy on those efforts. This can be a tough question to find an uncomplicated answer to, but it’s worth taking into account when feasible.
• Packaging materials
  • At last, we come to an aspect of sustainability that is a bit easier to identify as you go. Reducing packaging waste can require a bit of forethought or habit change as you adjust to bringing your own containers or forgoing them entirely, but doing so is well worth the reduction in trash that results. It can be as easy as purchasing from bulk bins, choosing foods with minimal or recyclable packaging, and choosing not to put produce in a bag when shopping at the market or a farmstand.
• Bonus: Eating local when eating out!
  • Keep an eye out for restaurants that proudly prop up local food. Transparency is key here – small spots that either list where they source their ingredients on the menu or let you know when you ask are my go-to. A restaurant buys in much greater quantities than any single household, and making sure that local restaurants that support local producers can keep up their local approach can have a vast impact.

A lot goes into every component of every meal we consume – the implications can be overwhelming, but don’t fall into that overwhelm when you inevitably can’t purchase perfectly. Just make an honest effort for yourself and your world of neighbors – that’s all we can ask of others, and that’s all we can ask of ourselves.