How You Can Be a Citizen Farmer
We believe small actions make big changes.
There are many ways to join the Citizen Farmer movement with actions big or small. We’ve put together some ways that YOU can take action to regenerate our soil, health, and community.
Make Composting a Way of Life
Whether you do it at home yourself or find a place to donate your food scraps (check out MakeSoil), this is one of the top ways to limit food waste, regenerate soil, and keep millions of pounds out of the landfill. Healthy soil equals healthy food. Healthy food equals healthy people. Healthy people equals healthy communities. Composting is the ultimate form of stewardship.
Plant Something
Wherever you are, you can plant the seeds for growing community by starting a garden at your home, workplace, school or neighborhood. Start small, whether it’s an herb plant or a full garden, just plant something and see what grows. It’s rewarding!
Share & Give Back
A big part of what it means to be a Citizen Farmer is to share the harvest. Not everyone is so lucky to have the land, resources, knowledge and ability to grow food. There are so many people around the world who go hungry every day and so many others who are over-eating food that does more harm than good. We are so out of balance it is scary. To turn this around, we must think beyond our own dinner tables. This means sharing the food we grow, sharing the knowledge we’ve learned, volunteering our time and money to community gardens and nonprofits, and helping others.
Teach the Next Generation
For kids, there are so many lessons that can be taught in a garden. Often, they are integrated into the school curriculum -- math, science and social studies to name a few. And it's the children who often teach their parents and help change family behaviors. We believe every school should have a garden and we are working hard to make that happen. We can't tell you how many times parents and teachers tell me that kids feel differently about vegetables they grow, water and pick. They actually want to eat them. Teach your children about gardening and growing food. Engage with your schools to fund and create gardens that can be used for teaching.
Be a Conscious Consumer
Being a Citizen Farmer goes beyond growing food, it means becoming conscious about what we buy and what we consume. Try to buy as much of your produce locally to cut back on your carbon footprint. Shop your farmer’s market or look for locally grown produce at your grocery store. Buy an edible plant for your next gift for a loved one. Look beyond the label to the companies and products you support. Your small actions can make big changes.
Become an Entre-Manure
It is gratifying to see that, in recent years, growing numbers of 20- and 30-somethings -- often college-educated with no agricultural background -- are choosing farming as a career. Like myself, these aspiring farmers have become disillusioned with industrial agriculture, and are enamored at the prospect of becoming part of a broader movement to restore faith in the food supply. No doubt about it: Making a living at farming is not easy. But it can be done.
And last but not least, join our community, ask questions, and engage with others!