Tips for eating local in Austin

Eating local is beneficial for many reasons and in Austin this is not difficult to do. Some of the benefits include the fact that it is good for the environment – because the food uses less waste to travel a shorter distance to get to our tables. It’s also fresher when it arrives, which means more time to use those products and less spoilage. And, it’s great for the local economy, local farmers and residents.

Visit your local farmer’s market

Support businesses made in Texas

We are lucky to live in a city that has many local businesses and it is easy to find them. We’re the birthplace of Whole foods, not far away from the HEB headquarters in San Antonio and many of our restaurants are locally-owned. When shopping at your local store, look for the GO TEXAN logo on products. http://www.gotexan.org/

Support restaurants who make an effort to use local resources

Austin is known to be a health conscious city and savvy when it comes to sustainability, which influences restaurant choices as well. There are many farm-to-table restaurants, even some with their own farms! Many menus or websites will state where they receive their produce and meats from, but if not, just ask!

https://www.austinlocal.com/best-austin-farm-to-table-restaurants-eat-local.html

Learn to garden

Learning to garden or grow your own food is not only the freshest, but most affordable and convenient way to have fresh produce. Check out these places for classes in Austin:

• The Sustainable Food Center: https://sustainablefoodcenter.org/programs/grow-local
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: https://www.wildflower.org/learn/adults
• The Natural Gardener: https://tngaustin.com/events/
• Urban Roots: https://urbanrootsatx.org/youth-farm-programs/

Join a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program

Another great option would be to join a CSA program to get in-season produce in a subscription style service. This is a partnership with local farms where you pay for a share of their upcoming harvests.  

Austin has many CSA programs and local gardening classes in the area:

• Johnson’s Backyard Garden: https://www.jbgorganic.com/csa
• Green Gate Farms: https://greengatefarms.net/food/csa/
• Blessing Falls Family Farm: https://blessingfalls.com/sign-up-csa-greater-austin/
• Gray Gardens: http://www.graygardensbuda.com/csa-enrollment