Good Local Food is Easier Than You Think

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Reduce Your Food Miles with Gardening, CSAs and Community Gardens

With this Sustainability Savings Tip, you can:

Save Over $480/YR
 Avoid Emissions of CO2: Over 500 lbs./YR

Are you looking for a very personal way to provide impactful benefits for our environment? How about reducing your food miles? The number of miles our food travels from the grower to our plate are called “food miles.” More food miles = more fuel used = more CO2 emissions. Planting your own garden is one of the best ways to reduce your food miles. If you can’t, or prefer not to install your own garden, or if you want to supplement your harvest, visit one of the many local Farmers Markets. Or, you can buy a share of a local farmer’s harvest. This concept is called Community of new interest in Community Gardens, a piece of land that is shared with friends, neighbors and community groups for growing vegetables, fruits and flowers. There are several in Mesa, including Mesa Urban Garden in downtown! 

You might strive to be a Locavore meaning you’ll pay attention to where your food comes from and commit to eating local foods as much as possible. There are many great things about eating local. It supports small farmers in your area, you will likely eat healthier, save money on groceries, and all the while reducing greenhouse gas emissions for the planet – talk about multiple benefits with one simple change!

Checklist for Savings

  • Seed Library: Mesa Public Library offers a Seed Library for library card holders to check out three seed packets per month for free. Check it out (get the pun?). This is now offered at all three Mesa libraries.
  • Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Membership: Visit localharvest.org to find a local CSA. 
  • Community Gardens: Visit our webpage to learn about the many located in Mesa.
  • Find Mesa Urban Garden at 212 E 1st Ave. or check us out on Facebook.

Start Saving

Start saving money and reduce your food miles, while doing your part for building a sustainable community. Visit our website for more sustainability savings tips.

 

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