Off the Urban Grid

Organize Swap Meets with Local Food Growers

Growing a vegetable garden in your backyard is convenient and sustainable. However, if you’re tomatoes don’t grow well one year, you have to spend cash on produce from the grocery store. Instead of settling for non-organic fruits and vegetables when you’re garden doesn’t come through, why not host swap meets for local food growers?

In Wooden, Australia, homegrown vegetable producers hold monthly swap meets. The Woodend Community Permaculture Garden has been the meeting place local gardeners to swap their fruits and vegetables for two years. The recent swap meet had about 20 participants, and it gave the growers a chance to swap food for items that they are lacking. You never know what you can find at one of these swap meets. Growers can bring anything from asparagus, artichokes, blackberries, pomegranates and figs.

These swap meets enable the small community of growers to get the essential produce they need every season. Home gardens are vulnerable to the weather and are also affected by the soil quality, water and wildlife. You can never ensure that your garden will be a success, which is why these swap meets are such a great idea.

Even if you can’t hold a community swap meet to trade food, you can at least do this with neighbors. This is a practical way to support the neighborhood, and it’s a sustainable option that is healthy for the environment and your wallet. The more people you get involved, the better chances all of you will be able to feed your family organic fruits and vegetables all year round.

Tags: surplus food, swap meets