As our culture begins to create the kind of economic model that will sustain us into the future, the individual desire to live simply and create community becomes stronger. The Vancouver area has a wealth of resources to help people connect with their local food supply and community.

How much do you spend on groceries for your household? According to one national study an average family of two to three people spends at least $160 a week on food. Where does the food come from? How much of your time and energy went into earning the money to buy that food, and does it nourish you?

Are you interested in growing your own food, but don’t know how and when to start? Or are you limited by not having space or adequate time? What if you could cut your food bills in half by growing and preserving much of your own fresh food?

The Urban Farm School is a SW Washington-based business providing inexpensive workshops and classes to connect people with their inner farmer and their community.

“As people begin to focus on getting back to basics, we have seen an increase in interest in our gardening and preservation classes,” said Kendra Pierce, one of the owners of Urban Farm School. “We offer affordable solutions for small scale food production, chicken keeping and preserving the harvest, in a time when it is truly needed. We are happy that we can help people become more food independent, especially during uncertain economic times.

“Our primary focus is the residents of the greater Vancouver area as Vancouver embraces the self reliance food movement. Urban Farm School is dedicated to helping each person discover their inner farmer and lend a hand in helping them find the hidden farm in any urban space,” Pierce said.

If you live in an apartment and want to help bring more recycling or compost options to your complex, you can promote the idea to the manager and take it on as campaign. Compost and recycling will save the complex money and get your apartment community involved in a positive project. You could even go in on a vegetable plot with your neighbors and grow food together.

How much do you spend paying for garbage hauling services? An average household of three to four can spend anywhere from $360 to $700 a year for garbage pick up. When you start looking at what goes in the garbage, there’s big opportunity to save money, reduce your environmental footprint and feed a garden.

Organic and recyclable materials can account for up to 75 percent or more of the “waste” generated at home. All those tomato ends and potato peels could be feeding your garden, rather than the disposal company.

Here are a few tips to lower your garbage bill. In Vancouver, you can pay as little as $10/month for once a month pick up:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: All the packaging that houses our food, requires disposal; REDUCE your garbage bill by buying in bulk, directly from local farmers or growing your own. You’ll eat fresher food and generate less waste. REUSE containers for leftovers or plant starts and bring your own reusable bags to the store. RECYCLE as much as possible.

Start a compost pile in your backyard, or a worm bin. The Master Recycler program at Columbia Springs offers backyard composting workshops and reduced cost compost bins for $35. Reach them at columbiasprings.org or call 360.882.0936.

Our grand-parents and great grand-parents did these things before and during the Great Depression and there’s a strong case within the green movement to get back to our roots by growing some of our own food and taking charge of what we choose to buy.

Call 907.5814 or 852.3728, or visit www.urbanfarmschool.com for more info. The school offers several classes for $15.

Amaranth Wilson is a contributor to The Voice.