Healing Our Relationship with the Planet through Food

In my attempts to eat healthier, I've been going to farmer's markets. The quality of the produce continually strikes me. Waxed apples and bagged veggies at Trader Joe's no longer feel healthy enough to me and I am now wanting to only buy my produce at the farmer's market.

There are just so many reasons to do that, and not too many good reasons to buy food at the grocery store.
1. Local food means a greater energetic connection to your surrounding community.
2. Buying directly from your farmer increases this connection.
3. Produce is fresher; wasn't shipped and stored for days. This also means it will last longer in your fridge or pantry!
4. Eating seasonally puts your body in rhythm with nature - your energetic being can function in congruence with nature's energy, rather than against it.
5. Shopping at farmer's markets reduces your exposure to ice cream and processed foods.

Decrease your eco-footprint even more by walking or biking to your farmer's market!

While the prices might seem higher, I think the value is worth it in the long run, both for your own life and the future generations.

Alternatively, I theorize that if I do 70% or more of my shopping at farmer's markets, I will actually spend less money on higher quality food. No more sodas, cookies and excess carbs. I'll buy mostly veggies, some fruits and meat, eggs, local honey, olive oil, nuts, and maybe an occasional goody like the lemon lavender elixir they sell at the Inner Sunset farmer's market. My plan is to eventually spend 70% of my food budget at farmer's markets. Over the winter, I'm going to aim for 50/50.

Summer 2013 I'll be onto an even bigger goal: growing my own food! I wanted to do it this last summer, but I didn't know where to begin. My yard is concrete, which in San Francisco is a blessing even to have that. I'll have to get bins for growing and I'll make my own soil with a worm compost bin.

How will I go from zero to urban farm goddess in less than a year? I signed up for Hayes Valley Farm's Urban Permaculture apprenticeship! This is a six month program that meets every other Saturday. What is urban permaculture? It is about re-connecting the urban environment with the earth, through growing our food, healing ourselves and our relationship to the planet. The prime directive is to take responsibility for our own role on the planet; our health, our foot print, our affect on the other people we share our city with.

Save yourself from Nature Deprivation Disorder! Learn more about the urban permaculture movement!

If you are in San Francisco, you can volunteer at Hayes Valley Farm which is soon to be morphed into "49 Farms."  If you are elsewhere, you can always google! Feel free to leave a comment and I can ask my teacher to help find programs in your location.