The fourth annual Boston Local Food Festival, a free event organized by theSustainable Business Network of Massachusetts, is revving up to bring Bostonians together to taste local fare, watch cooking demos, meet local farmers, vendors and producers, plus so much more.

This event bridges the gap between local eaters and producers, thus creating a network that reinforces sustainability, local economy, and hearty local products.

But the fun can’t go on without your help! Donations from local foodies and community supporters are what make this event possible. Every donation, from one dollar to a thousand, help bring this festival closer to coming back to Boston for another year.

Donations can be made online on our fundraising platform, powered by Fundraise.com (local, independent Boston company) or via mail to SBN at 186 Hampshire St, Cambridge, MA 02139.

Donating won’t only give you the warm fuzzies, but it could also score you some great treats and reusable schwag from the Boston Local Food Festival. A donation of $100.00 or more gets you a “I Support Local Food” pin, a Boston Local Food Festival reusable bag, and a sampling of delicious local treats!

If you enjoyed the Boston Local Food Festival last year and can’t wait to come back, or if you are a local food newbie, take a second to chip in and bring local fare a little closer to home. Your donation will help bring our community closer to the food we love.  For more information about how to get involve in the Boston Local Food Festival 2013, please visit our website, http://bostonlocalfood.com/

Support local food and donate today!

By Becka Gregory
Environmental Writer and Guest Blogger
becka.gregory@gmail.com

That said, my Thanksgiving plate will be void of something even more classic—turkey. Yes, some call it sacrilege; but as a vegan with a particular passion for sustainability, I’ve learned about the critical effect that meat consumption has on our planet and how I can make a difference.

Here’s why you might consider going meatless: 

The environmental impact of America’s meat production is a leading concern in the conversation about vegetarianism. Greenhouse gas emissions from feed production, transportation, meat processing, manure and waste contribute to one of the most polluting industries in the country.

In a report by Harvard University, the Union of Concerned Scientists said, “the single most effective choice you can make to lower the global warming emissions resulting from your diet is to eat less meat, especially beef.”

Via EWG.org

According to a study by the Environmental Working Group, eating one less serving of beef per week* is like taking your car off the road for 320 miles, or line-drying your clothes 50 percent of the time. If a family of four did the same, it would be the equivalent of taking a car off the road for almost three months.

And if everyone in America gave up meat and cheese just one day per week, we could save 91 billion miles!

It’s a novel goal, but one that is certainly worth striving for.

*Over 1 Year 

However, all meat is not created equal.

Buying local and organic meats are essential contributions to this effort, too. Many believe that the locavore movement is the best way to lead a low impact life. So, if vegetarianism or veganism just isn’t in the cards for you, be mindful about where your meat comes from.

Grass-fed, organic and local are all key words to look out for when purchasing meat. In terms of environmental impact, pasture-raised chicken is the safest choice with organic, antibiotic-free turkey at a close second.

What can you do?

As Turkey Day fast approaches, going “veg” may seem like a crazy suggestion. However, it could also be a fun challenge (and dare I say, new tradition?). To get the entire family involved, start a friendly contest to see who can create the best vegetarian dish. Use Thanksgiving as a kick-off day, and make the next holiday gathering your one-month meatless goal.

If you can conquer the “season of feasting” as a vegetarian, a weekly Meatless Monday will be a piece of cake.

Vegan cake, that is.

Written by Taryn Johnson, Marketing & Communications Intern

There are numerous definitions for an “Urban Homestead” and many different levels at which one can practice “Urban Homesteading,” but the basic themes that apply throughout are: creating a productive home (i.e. one that generates food and other needs), greater self-sufficiency, reduced environmental impact and a general return to a more home-based way of life.  Most would agree that these are wonderful themes and ones we should all be striving towards, especially in today’s tough economy and uncertain environmental times.

But, if you, like my husband and I, live in a one-bedroom loft in a large brick city apartment building, there is little-to-no productive land to work with.   So what does one do?   Work with whatever space you have and hope for the best!  Here are some of the things that we’ve managed in our little space.

Container Gardening

We have fresh herbs growing year-round in containers along our windowsills, and during the summer months, we sneak a few potted plants around the outside of the building.   If our resident neighbors or squirrels get to the goods first—so be it. We still had the pleasure of getting our hands dirty and growing something nonetheless.

Rainwater Collection

Our plants love rainwater, and water is an increasingly precious resource that we all need to preserve. While we don’t have a porch or any personal outdoor space, we throw out a few buckets when it rains and then transfer the collected water into reused containers for watering.

Composting

After our eyes were opened to the amazing environmental benefits of composting organic waste, and to the equally negative impacts of not composting it, we simply had to find a solution.

Solution 1: Burying our compost in the wooded area behind our house… (Please don’t tell!); Solution 2: Much more responsible, but a big pain; freezing the compost in bags and then driving it to a local composting facility, and Solution 3:  Signing up with home composting company Bootstrap Compost…finally a sensible solution! Bootstrap Compost drops off clean 5lb buckets with lids lined with compostable liners which you then fill up over the course of a week or two (depending on your needs), and then leave outside to be picked up and replaced by a clean bin.  The best part, you get a bag of processed compost back every 6 months or so which you can then use to nourish all those herbs growing on your windowsills!

Fresh Local Veggies via a CSA

Since we can’t live on the few handfuls of herbs we grow at home, as wonderful as they are, wehave been members of a CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) for over 5 years now for the regular growing season, and have more recently extended into the winter season with a winter CSA.   The abundance of yummy local produce we receive from these CSA’s keeps us nourished throughout most of the year, and we love spending our evenings cooking up new veggie creations.

Next up on our homesteader to-do-list is joining a local yogurt co-op as one way to cut down on the never-ending weekly pile-up of plastic containers.  There is no question we have a long way to go and we’ll never be able to do it all in our little city apartment, but we’re proud of what we have done and look forward to what comes next!

Written by: Katrina Kazda, Managing Director at SBN