The food will be fresher, tastier, more sustainable, and way more nutritious. Besides, by supporting local farmers, you’ll cycle your dollars right back into your local economy. By supporting and buying local your purchase helps local entrepreneurs and companies grow and expand. Plus you ensure your produce has maximum freshness as it’s mostly harvested the same day of delivery!

Although sustainability is certainly not about spending more and buying more things — there are swaps you can slowly make in your kitchen if you’re looking to upgrade some items. We recommend investing in eco-alternatives when it makes sense to you. You can start by:

Ditching the single-use baggies for reusable bags
Taking reusable bags to the grocery store
Swapping paper towels for rags

By using reusable water bottles, you can significantly reduce the amount of plastic bottles in your community. Plastic water bottles have a finite life span, but when you use a reusable bottle, it will last for as long as you wish. You can have peace of mind when you use reusable bottles.

One of the easiest things you could do today is keeping a reusable canvas tote bag in your car for when you go grocery shopping and declining a plastic bag. As a Green Tomato member, you’ll receive a canvas tote bag during your first delivery as a welcome gift! We want you to use it and eventually hope that I can replace plastic bags. We must take action as unfortunately there’s no policy here in Florida banning plastic bags.

This is a tough one, because many supermarkets shrink-wrap every loose piece of produce they can get their hands on, even those that naturally have biodegradable packaging. Shrink-wrapped bananas, anyone? But, that brings us to our next tip!

Plastic cutlery, straws, plates, and cups clog our landfills and end up filling the bellies of sea turtles. So get yourself a set of reusable cutlery, stainless steel straws, and reusable containers to keep in your car or bag while you’re out and about.

Most tea bags are loaded with micro plastics that are bad for you and the environment. But have no fear: loose-leaf tea is here!  Pick up an in-mug strainer or a set of reusable cloth tea bags and you’ll be on your way to a delicious, sustainable brew in no time! And if you’re feeling adventurous, try blending up your own teas — you’ll be able to have your cuppa exactly how you like it — and as a bonus, custom blends make wonderful gifts.

Meal planning can really help streamline your grocery trips, trim food costs, and reduce waste by ensuring that you'll use everything you purchase. It will also save you from the question that pretty much everyone dreads after a long day of work: “what’s for dinner tonight?” And who knows? You might just score a little more "you" time on busy weeknights. You can also read up on how to adopt a more sustainable diet!

In a perfect zero-waste world, everyone would go vegan and consign environmentally destructive factory farming to history. But if you aren’t ready or able to give up meat, choose local, humanely raised meat. And consider making Meatless Monday a new tradition at your house. You might just be pleasantly surprised at how satisfying and delicious plant-based meals can be.