- educate ourselves about the food we eat: where it comes from, who grows it, and how it is grown;
- make food choices based on the knowledge we gain from educating ourselves about our food; and
- help to educate others about our food in a non-intrusive manner so that others can make knowledgeable food choices.
What We Believe
We believe that knowing about our food and making knowledgeable food choices necessarily means eating locally so we can see where and how our food is grown, get to know those who grow and make our food, and engage ourselves in our food communities.
We believe that food is the essence of our lives: it fuels us and therefore keeps us alive (health), and it connects us to the land on which we live (our environment) and the people with whom we live (our communities). Because food is a fundamental component of our lives without which we would not sustain life, we believe we must make it a priority to educate ourselves about our food and make choices based on the knowledge we gain.
We believe the food choices we make affect not only ourselves, but the communities of which we are a part: our families, friends, neighbors, the farmers who grow our food, the people who must take care of us if we get sick from this food, and all those individuals with whom we interact. Therefore, we believe it is our duty not only to educate ourselves and make knowledgeable choices for ourselves but also to educate the people we care about.
We believe that individuals deserve the freedom to eat what they want. We also recognize that institutional policies can be helpful to the individual and his or her communities when making these choices about what food to eat and to share with their families and communities. We therefore believe there must be a balance between individual choices and institutional policies.
Additionally, we believe that when we educate ourselves and others about the food we eat, many of us will likely end up:
- eating local food as much as possible,
- eating organic food as much as possible,
- supporting Connecticut farmers and other farmers local to us and help to preserve their land,
- getting to know our farmers, and
- helping to provide access to those who may not have access to healthful and local food.
