Local Perspective – My Healthy Green Family

I am very pleased to introduce you all to Leona from My Healthy Green Family as our local perspective of the day! Leona is an incredibly inspirational woman who is producing a phenomenal amount of her family’s food on just two acres of land! Her post Raising Our Own Food in a Food-Dependent Society outlines the importance of knowing where your food comes from and the processes it must go through to get to you. It also speaks to exactly what we will do when we have just a little more space 🙂 In the meantime, I will be trying out her 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe, as well as trying out her Dish Detergent and trying to be better about using less chemical around the house using her lemon and vinegar combo.

I hope you enjoy getting to know Leona as much as I have!

xoxo,
Melissa

Eating local and supporting local small businesses and farmers is a growing trend. People are becoming more concerned about where their food is coming from, how it has been raised or grown, and whether or not it has been doused in pesticides. Supporting local farmers, growing our own food, and shopping locally makes us feel like we have some control over what we eat. And if health is our concern, this is very important.

In Canada, we can grow a large variety of food, but mainly during the months of May to October. Even with the help of commercial hothouses, our growing season is limited, and so obtaining fresh, local food during the winter months is difficult, and in some cases, impossible. While squashes, potatoes, onions and apples can store well into the winter months, most fresh fruit and vegetables cannot be obtained. We rely heavily on trucked-in food from other countries to supply us with fresh fruit and vegetables.

My husband and I have been raising our family on the south coast of BC, Canada. We are making every attempt we can to either raise, grow and/or preserve our own food. Read more here. When we can’t, we try to source our food locally. Here are a few tips that will dramatically reduce your carbon footprint, featuring some great links for locals!

1. Join a CSA
   What is a CSA? A CSA (Commonly-Supported Agriculture) is a program set up between a farmer and a group of people who buy a share in the season’s harvest at the beginning of the year. Packages of locally-grown food are then delivered or picked up by the members, usually once a week, and will include a variety of food grown on that farm at that time. Half of the fun is in the surprise as what you will get, and figuring out how you will prepare it.<em

   [A CSA] links people directly with their source of food, providing them with the most fresh, sustainably produced food; it gives farmers a source of income at their time of highest expense (early spring).
   –Farm Folk City Folk

   A CSA is most commonly made up of fresh produce, but CSAs can also be for locally-grown grain, dairy and other food products. CSAs are a great way to purchase local food for a great price. Farm Folk City Folk provide a full list of CSAs in Greater Vancouver: click here.

2. Shop at Farmers Markets
   Farmer’s Markets are a great way to support farmers and find local food. Be cautious though! Ask and make sure the food is local, and ask if it has been sprayed or not. Increasingly, I have come across sellers at local markets who aren’t quite what we expect to find at a farmer’s market: their products may be local but may be hothouse, may be sprayed, or may not even be from local, small businesses. Talk to the seller and find out. Eat Local has a great list of farmer’s markets in the Greater Vancouver area: click here.
3. Read your labels at local grocery stores.
   Grocery stores are increasingly adding local produce and products to their shelves, in particularly the smaller grocery stores that don’t have to buy from one supplier as many chain grocery stores do. Read labels, ask managers to bring in local products, and support businesses that do. As I am sure you have heard before, we vote with our dollars, and if you aren’t buying what you promote, then you won’t find it in the stores.
4. Buy Directly From The Farmer
   Many local farmers will sell to you directly from the farm, or will have a storefront on their farm. Purchase meat, eggs and dairy from local farmers, rather than supporting multi-national companies where your 1 lb package of ground beef may be from 100 different cows. Lots of local farmers will sell beef, pork, lamb, etc by the side for a better price. For a great list of local companies and farmers selling prepared products, bread, dairy and meat, check out Jill’s Test Kitchen. She has a great list of local food producers for the Lower Mainland.
5. Grow/Raise Your Own
   You know it. Just as green living can be either terribly expensive if you buy all your products, or extremely economical if you make your own, growing, making, or raising your own is perhaps the best, and cheapest option. You may not be blessed with property to grow and raise food, but there are many options available to people who want to try.
   Garden
   Almost everyone can grow SOMETHING in their own yard. If you don’t have a deck, or a yard, you may have to consider a community garden, but otherwise, most people can grow some food at home. Herb gardens are a great way to start. Patio gardens including pots of tomatoes, lettuce, herbs and more can be grown in a bit of sunshine on a warm deck. Remember that above ground gardens or pots with vegetables will need to be watered very frequently during the hotter summer months. If you are up to starting a garden in your back yard, I highly recommend starting small, and growing it over time to what is manageable amount of work for you. Do a bit of research ahead of time, or ask an expert, to know what vegetables or fruit will grow in your spot. Some vegetables prefer full sun, while others do better in partial shade. Start with the basic, easy-to-grow vegetables like lettuce, chard, carrots, peas, beans and potatoes. BC Living has great tips for a newby gardener: Gardening 101: Start Up Your Own Personal Garden This Spring!
   Community Gardens
   A community garden is one where you rent a plot in a larger garden, and you can grow your own food! This is an ideal set up for people who live in apartments, or who just don’t have the perfect backyard for a vegetable garden. There are rules to follow, and you must maintain your garden yourself, naturally. Most communities in the Lower Mainland now have community gardens. The only drawback I know of, is that they often have long wait lists for them. City Farmer has a great list of community gardens by area, for Greater Vancouver and Victoria.
   Raise your own meat
   Raising your own meat is an entirely different story than growing a vegetable garden. You are completely tied to your animals’ basic needs: food, water, shelter. You are their caregiver, and if you can’t provide good care for them, then don’t even consider raising your own meat. If you are up for the challenge, though, it is an incredibly rewarding, humbling, and gratifying experience.We have been raising our own meat now, for a few years. I honestly think that our entire family may have become vegetarian had we not been able to do so. Locally and humanely raised meat is fantastic, but it is also very expensive. We strongly value knowing what feed the animals we eat have been fed, how they have been raised, and how they have been processed. It is our life for theirs, and we are very thankful for their sacrifices. You can read more about our experience raising meat here. Small property owners CAN raise their own meat (depending on local laws etc). Backyard chickens can provide eggs, and eventually meat. 2 rabbits can be raised in a backyard, and have the ability to provide you with up to 180 lb of meat a year. Quail can be raised indoors, and can also provide you with meat and eggs. If you have a lot of property, your options are much greater. Just remember that you are the sole caregiver and provider for these animals and if you can’t provide properly for them then don’t attempt it.
6. Forage for food
   Food foraging in local forests is also a growing trend. There are classes you can take to help you learn how to identify what plants are safe to eat and what are not, and there are groups set up so people can forage together. We know of a very special, local tree that grows the most incredible oyster mushrooms imaginable: wild, untouched by chemicals, and delicious. There are a lot of wild, edible berries in our area that are high in vitamins, sunshine and fresh air. Fishing and hunting, while not exactly foraging, are also popular, and the wild stock is a healthy alternative to commercially-raised meat. Many restrictions, of course, apply. If you are interested in foraging locally, check out Arcadian Abe for wild harvests, courses and blogs.
7. Preserve local food
   I have discovered that the key to eating local, year-round, in the Greater Vancouver area is to preserve food. The months of November to May are too cold and wet to allow us to produce much, if any fruit or vegetables outdoors. Just as any pioneers to the area would have done, we need to preserve our food to feed us through the winter. We can lock away the local nutrients and goodness of most fruits and vegetables by preserving them in season, and eating them throughout the less productive months.
   Dehydrate
   Dehydrating food is easy to do, does not destroy valuable nutrients by heating, and allows you to enjoy a large variety of food later in the year. From fruit leather, to dehydrated vegetables for soup, to salmon jerky, the options are endless. You can buy dehydrators from as little as less than $50 to several hundred dollars. Watch your thrift stores or craigslist listings for dehydrators. If you are looking for an investment, try an Excalibur. You won’t regret it. Pick Your Own has a great section on dehydrating food.
   Freeze
   Freezing locally-grown or raised food is another great way to preserve our growing season. You can freeze most food, for months, with great success. Frozen berries make a great addition to smoothies. Frozen meat from a half-cow purchase lasts a long time in the freezer, and allows you to have a “meat shop” in your garage. Frozen beans, herbs, peas, carrots, chard, spinach… all store nicely in zip lock bags or other sealable containers, especially if they are blanched first. You can freeze rice, bread, soup and so much more! To check out the basics of freezing and storing food (and the meaning of blanching) head to Pick Your Own.
   Can
   Canning is an ideal preservation method for cool-room storage. Once the food is processed and sealed in jars, it can last many months in a cool location. You can can a wide variety of food, including some prepared foods, jam, meat, vegetables, pickles and more. Make sure you know what food needs to be pressure canned before you attempt to can. This pressure canner is a favorite. Once again, I’ll direct you to Pick Your Own for very detailed information on canning food.
8. When You Eat Out
   Everyone enjoys dinner out on the town on occasion, and as you already know, there are good places to eat and not so good places. If you only go out for a special treat you can afford to go to a restaurant that makes it their priority to serve local and sustainable food. Check out Green Table Network’s list of restaurants in the Lower Mainland that are committed to limiting their eco-footprint.

The trend towards eating local, supporting your local farmers and knowing what is in or on your food, is growing. Take hold of the opportunity to become a part of the movement! We CAN get back to a more sustainable food system, where we can actually trust our suppliers, or grow our own. Make it a priority to vote with your dollars. Shop local! Grow a garden! Every little change adds up and will one day be the difference we need to grow a healthy, sustainable future.

My Healthy Green Family is a natural living blog focusing on sustainable living, modern homesteading, and organic gardening and farming. Leona’s popular DIY tutorials include natural body products, non-disposables, household cleaners, and whole-food, healthy recipes.

Her small acreage includes 3 free-ranging children, dairy goats, chickens, pigs, ducks, honey bees, fruit trees and bushes, and a large, organic vegetable garden.

Leona promotes eco-friendly activities and products, eco-activism and much more.

Leona can be found on her blog as well as on her Facebook page.