How to Fill Your Summer with Sustainable Food

Let's hear it for hot days, iced tea, and swimming pools. Let's also give a cheer for all the summer's eating joys: ripe fruit exploding from trees, farms bursting with life, and plenty of lovely days for outdoor fiestas.

Don't let the dog days pass you by without celebrating the food of your community. This season offers the best excuses to enjoy the fruits, so to speak, of local farms' labor and to host events that support sustainable food. Here are some ideas that might inspire you to get a little bit of quality, sustainable foodie fun out of your summer.

Host Cook-outs: There's nothing more summery than a good, old-fashioned cook-out. This can be a great way to showcase foods from local farms, especially grass-fed meats produced by small farmers. Nothing will taste better on the grill than a hamburger created in a way that nourishes the soil as much as it does the hamburger-eater. Throw in some special foods from your area, whether it be watermelon or cranberries or oranges. Provide a few local beers and other drinks, and it will be a special event indeed.

Frequent Farmers' Markets: 'Tis the season for farmers' markets. While some markets continue throughout the winter, most close up shop and only open again around now. As the summer progresses they'll be increasingly overflowing with excellent, fresh food from around the area. This is the best time to search out the freshest produce at the markets near you.

Tour Small Farms: Many small farmers are eager to interact with their community, especially potential customers, and may be willing to have visitors come tour their operations. The ability of customers to see exactly where and how their food is grown is an important piece of a sustainable food economy built on more than just the bottom line.

Volunteer on Farms: If you're really into farm life, there's no question some farmer or another will welcome you to chip in on some of that never-ending work. There are various ways to do this, including signing up for a CSA that requires subscribers to help on the farm, joining a cropmob, becoming a WWOOFer (working on organic farms via World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), or finding a farm internship or apprenticeship.

Go Berry-Picking: In case you're looking for a farm experience that's a bit less intense than a full day or month of work (and, perhaps, one that the kids can appreciate, too), take advantage of the pick-your-own options. In the summer, this activity often tends toward berries. If you're lucky, you'll find a hayride and a corn maze you and your kids can get lost in.

Learn to Can: There's no better way to make the bounty of summer last than to learn to preserve your own food. Learning to can the fresh fruits and veggies you brought home from the market is a great way to keep your family eating well all winter. The big issue is sterilization, which is a very important health concern, so learn how to do it right before you go ahead with that batch of summer tomatoes. Other options for eating summer produce all year long are freezing, pickling, and making jams.

Most important of all, just eat the deliciousness that's all around you. Enjoy the fresh flavors of the season while learning more about your local food economy.

Photo: {just jennifer} via Flickr