There is a lot we can do to reduce the carbon footprint of our food, while also supporting the kind of farming practices that build the soil and local food resilience.

• Shop the farmers market. The closest one is the Midtown market, across from the YWCA on Lake Street.

• Buy Minnesota-grown produce, fruits, honey and meat. The Seward Co-op labels local food so you can choose to eat local.

• Join a CSA (community-supported agriculture, with deliveries direct from the farm into the neighborhood)

• Join a local buying club. Ask folks on the Transition facebook group if they participate in a buying club. There are at least two that deliver nearby.

YOU CAN GROW YOUR OWN!

If you have a sunny space in your yard, you're in luck! Transition Longfellow helps neighbors in the 55406 zip code install raised-bed gardens each May with our CHARD YOUR YARD program (see below). If your yard is too shady, consider:

• Asking a neighbor with a sunny yard if you can grow in their space, sharing the bounty.

• Joining a community garden:

  • The oldest remaining Victory garden in the US - the Dowling Garden.

  • Minnehaha Ave Community (MAC) garden at at 3128 Minnehaha Ave S

  • 32nd St Community Garden at 3209 29th Ave S. (contact Eric Hart)

  • Hiawatha Community Garden

Transition Longfellow volunteers have installed 150 raised bed gardens in people's yards since our Chard Your Yard program began. Sign up now to volunteer with garden installation.

This activity receives support from the Longfellow Community Council Environment & Transportation Committee.

Transition Longfellow partners with Hennepin County master gardeners to bring their 4-part series, "Veggie Growing Basics" to our neighborhood in April.

If you've got a gardening, food growing, cooking, preserving, sewing, repair, building skill that you'd like to share, contact us.

Occasionally, small groups get together to take a field trip. We've gone berry picking and visited a farm with pasture-raised cows and free-range chickens. We've attended movies, talks and conferences together.