The best way to convince others is to show through example, so as you eat more sustainably, others around you will notice. And as you get more and more excited by the great food you’re eating, you might want to encourage other places into offering sustainable choices. Below we’ve listed several places where you could try to make some positive change.

Schools
Grocery Stores
Businesses
Your friends

Get your local school to serve sustainable food
It’s extremely challenging to get your school to serve all sustainable food, so it’s usually best to start with one or two items. Find something that’s grown in abundance in your area (such as apples or milk) and try to get it sold in your school.

Schools also work on very slim profit margins, and getting one school to go sustainable might mean convincing the whole district, but don’t let that daunt you! It’s happening every day all over the country.

Visit Sustainable Table’s Cafeterias and Dining Halls section for ideas on how to get sustainable food served in yours or your child’s school or university.

Get your local supermarket to carry a local, sustainable product.
It doesn’t take much to get your local store to carry a sustainable product, just perseverance and a positive attitude. Find something that you would like to buy that your store is not carrying, and ask the store manager to stock it.

The key is to find something that you want to buy. Stores work on very slim profit margins so shelf space is very precious – if you are going to ask a store to carry something, make sure you’re planning to buy it! Encourage your friends to do so also.

If the manager says “no” the first time, ask again. Be polite, but be persistent. Seek out the actual product you would like and give the manager the address or web site for the company. Tell him/her about other stores that are carrying the product.

Visit the “Ask Questions” section of Get Involved to find cards and handouts with questions to ask the store manager. Simply download and use them when you go to your local store.

Get your workplace, business or local institution to go sustainable
Schools aren’t the only institutions looking to go sustainable. Establishments such as hospitals, retirement centers, prisons and even workplaces are starting to think about how to serve healthier food. Be the first in your area to transform a large institution to a sustainable way of thinking.

Below are some resources that might help you get started.

• Farm to Hospital: Promoting Health and Supporting Local Agriculture by Moira Berry and Mark Vallianatos. Published by the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College in November 2004.
• Purchase of Local and/or Organic Foods for Patients and Cafeterias by Marie Kulick. Published by Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, November 3, 2004
• Stonyfield Farm has a program to put healthy vending machines in schools – why not try to get one in your workplace or other institution you frequent? Visit their site to learn more.

Convert a friend or family member to buying sustainable
Suggestions on how you can do this include:

• Cook for them. After your friends tell you how wonderful your meal was, let them know where you bought the ingredients. Explain that when you buy food locally, it’s fresher because the time from harvest to your dinner plate is shorter, and that means more nutrients and more flavors for you.
• Bring friends and family along with you when you shop at the farmers market or go to the farm to buy your food. Let them meet the farmer you shop from; let them see how fresh and beautiful all the food looks displayed on the tables (or in the fields!) If the market is really busy, comment on the number of people shopping. Note how the sustainable movement is so popular all around the world.
• If they aren’t ready to go with you, buy them something when you’re there and drop it off for them. Let them cook it themselves and discover exactly why local, sustainable is better.
  Do you have any other ideas on how we can get friends and family members to eat sustainably? Let us know!