By Kelli Swensen, Dietetics Student, Sargent College

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One of the great emerging trends is the push to eat local and sustainable. Here at BU,there has been tremendous effort to make our university more sustainable (for more information on exactly what BU is doing, check out BU Sustainability’s comprehensive website). But what does it mean to eat locally? What exactly is sustainable? For these answers, I headed on over to SustainableTable.org, which is a wonderful resource for answering any questions you have on the topic. To summarize, local can mean eating foods you grow at home or your neighborhood farm sells. In general, local is defined as food that has to travel less than 100 miles to get to you. Sustainable agriculture, as explained by Sustainable Table, involves “food production methods that are healthy, do not harm the environment, respect workers, are humane to animals, provide fair wages to farmers, and support farming communities.”

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So how do you go about shopping for sustainable foods? Sustainable Table has a great list of common sustainability terms you may come across on labels to help make shopping for sustainable foods at the supermarket easier. They also have a search engine that helps you find restaurants in your area that feature local ingredients.

Another great option is to go to farmers markets and local produce stands. To find a market close to you, click here and type in your address. For anyone living in Boston, we here at the blog will be featuring some of these markets in posts throughout the summer. For those of you living in or around the Boston area, be sure to check out the Federation of Mass Farmers Markets to search for nearby markets by zip code or product.