Taking action can be as simple as buying one sustainable food product each week, or it can be trying to change the entire industrial food system. Below we have simple things you can do to raise awareness about and encourage others to support sustainable food and farming.

In this section:
Stores and Supermarkets
Restaurants

Stores and Supermarkets

• I Care Where My Food Comes From Cards - These note cards are an easy and effective way to ask your favorite store or supermarket to serve more sustainable food. Simply sign and leave the card behind when you leave.
• I'm Switching Stores - Tell your grocery store that you mean business! Give them one of these cards to encourage them to sell sustainable products.

Ask store managers to stock the sustainable food you want. If you would rather not change stores, ask the manager to stock the type of meat or dairy products you would like to buy. Ask them to find a local farmer. Stores work off of very slim profit margins, and there is a lot of competition for shelf space, so be prepared to buy the product if the store stocks it for you. Tell your friends also. If the manager is not sure where to get sustainable products, tell him to check out the Eat Well Guide for farmers in the area.

If you don't have time to speak with the manager, leave an I Care Where My Food Comes From card behind. Get your friends to do the same. If you can't find the store manager, leave it with the cashier and ask that it be delivered to the manager. And continue to leave cards behind until you hear from someone!

You just have to ask! Florence from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, wanted local milk from the Lewes Dairy but didn't want to change supermarkets. After asking the store manager twice, he stocked some Lewes Dairy milk on a trial basis, even though he didn't think it would sell. To his surprise, the milk is now sold regularly and often sells out! When Florence told the dairy owners what she'd done, they replied they'd been trying to get their milk into the store for years. So, always remember, consumers have all the power. You just have to ask!

You can shop elsewhere. Try the Eat Well Guide to see if there are any stores selling sustainable products in your area. If you do decide to switch stores, and you're comfortable doing so, tell the store manager why you are leaving. You can leave behind one of our I'm Switching Stores cards.

If the store does decide to stock food from a local, sustainable farm, help promote it! Ask the farmer to come in one day and give taste tests. Tell the manager to put up signs promoting the local farm. Be creative and think of ways to advertise the farm. Don't forget to visit The Parlour to let us all know what you've done - others might be able to use your ideas in their area.

Ask Questions. If you have questions for the store managers, print out these handy Wallet-sized Cards to take with you when you go shopping.

If the managers can't answer your questions, ask them to find the information you want. Many meat/store managers get their food directly from distributors and are not sure where it comes from. Ask them to ask the distributor. If you don't get the answer you want to hear, there are a couple options.

If you'd like to ask questions about food being sold in the store, take along our handy Questions to Ask handouts - they even include the answers you should listen for!

Restaurants

• I Care Card for a Restaurant Manager - These wallet-sized cards will let the manager of your favorite restaurant know how you feel - give them one of these cards to urge them to serve local sustainable food. You can either hand it to the manager or hostess, or simply leave it behind with your bill.
• The Ask for Change Campaign, being spearheaded by the Husbandry Institute, also has downloadable cards that you can take with you to restaurants. Visit them for more information on why asking these questions is so important, and for more information about the campaign.

If you want to ask questions about your food when you eat out, take these handy business-sized cards with you to restaurants and when you go out to eat. Print the questions for a store manager on the back, and you're all set wherever you go!

Questions for a waiter
Questions for store manager and/or butcher

Wait staff and even restaurant managers might not be able to answer your questions, but, as with store managers, the goal is to start asking. The more questions restaurants get, the more likely they'll look into serving sustainable food.

PRINTING: The wallet-sized cards for stores and restaurants can be printed on thick paper and cut where the lines along the edges indicate, or you can print the PDF onto Avery Business Card Paper (Avery # 8866, 8371, or most 10-card sheets), which is perforated so you don't have to cut the cards yourself. The second page is optional - it's for the back of the card.