August 19th: Local Food & our Watershed
Hi all! This week we wanted to showcase our local food system and it’s relationship with the watershed. Supporting local food reduces your carbon footprint, strengthens Montana’s economy and is great for your health. Understanding where our food comes from empowers us to make decisions that support our entire community’s well-being.
Volunteering at the Gallatin Valley Food Bank in their garden.
Harvesting veggies for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank.
What does local food have to do with the watershed? Well, everything! A watershed, also known as a catchment or a basin, is an area of land drained by a river. All water in a watershed flows into a common outlet, kind of like how all of the water in your bathtub eventually ends up in the tub’s drain. In the case of the Lower Gallatin Watershed, our common outlet is the Gallatin River. A food system is a network of relationships required to get food to our plate. These relationships include the production, processing, packaging, distribution, and consumption of food. Without a clean and sustainable source of water, farmers and other members of the agricultural community cannot produce food. Water is needed to grow plants and animals and to process raw materials.
The relationship between farming, food, water and community is HUGE. How we relate to our food system, to the land and to each other is fundamental to the health of our watershed. Healthy watersheds create the backbone of healthy communities and subsequently, of healthy food systems.
SO, every time you support our local food system, you are helping cultivate a sense of watershed stewardship.
Here are just a few ways you can support our local food system (and simutaneously collect stamps in your Steward Passport!)
Participate in GVLT’s Picnic with your People happening now through August 23rd!
Volunteer or donate to any of our wonderful local food focused nonprofits such as the Gallatin Valley Food Bank or the Gallatin Valley Farm to School.
Support Western Sustainability Exchange Certified Local Foods Members.
Support our local farmers via CSAs, farmer’s market stands, etc. Check out the Local Food Resource Guide. The Bozeman Farmers’ Market is still going strong!
Thank you to the SAGE center for providing resources for this post.