Solution:  Get your food the old-fashioned way - from local farmers, through Community Supported Agriculture programs or a local farmers market.

Why We Need It:  Our food system relies far too heavily upon industrial, corporate, centralized agribusiness.  Supporting our local farmers helps our communities socially, environmentally, and economically. 

Why You'll Like It:  Local food is healthier, tastier, and often cheaper!  Going local has other benefits as well; having an interaction with the person who grew your veggies is much more fun and meaningful than swiping your card at the supermarket.

In Depth:  Ninety-one cents.  That's how many cents from each dollar spent in the supermarket go to the middlemen - processors, distributors, marketers [1].  That leaves a whole nine cents on the dollar for the people who did the most important work - the growers!  Flip this paradigm on its head by supporting your local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program or farmers market.  (If you're not already convinced we have a food system problem, click here for convincing info.)

CSA programs are run by a farm or a group of farms.  Customers pay an up-front, monthly, or weekly fee in exchange for a weekly box full of fresh, local, in-season goodness.  Veggies, fruit, naturally-raised meats, eggs, milk - the list of what a farm may offer is only limited by the type of farm it is.  Often the food is organic or beyond-organic, and not being bred for good shelf life or ability to handle long transport, is always much more tasty and nutritious than industrial food.  Having such a close tie with the producer keeps the producer accountable for quality and you accountable for continued business.  Know your farmer, know your food!  CSAs are growing in popularity; there are about 1000 CSA programs in the USA today, compared with about 50 in 1990.

Farmers markets are also growing in popularity.  According the the USDA, in 1994 there were 1,755 farmers markets operating throughout the USA.  In 2006, there were almost 4400.  Markets of this sort used to be the rule rather than the exception - at least once a week, the farm family would load up the wagon or truck and take the fresh farm products to the nearest town, gathering with other local farmers, socializing, and selling their products to the townspeople.  Today, just as then, farmers markets are a great thing for farmers and consumers both.  Farmers can often sell their farm's products for the same as or less than supermarket prices, and since they're cutting out the middlemen, they still make a much nicer profit selling directly to the consumer.  The consumer, on the other hand, benefits from the freshness of the products and the price at which such premium products are available.  Both benefit from the closeness of actual personal interaction between community members, as well as from the economic and environmental benefits produced from such interactions.

Take action!  This one is easy - who doesn't like fresh, delicious food?  Find CSAs and farmers markets in your area and support them!  You can find a very (very) limited list of CSAs and farmers markets here; if you know about such things in your community, send us all the pertinent info and we'll add it to our list!

[1] Smith, S. 1992, Farming Activities and Family Farms: Getting the Concept Right