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Why Growing Your Own Food Matters More Than Ever (and 3 Things to Do Right Now)

  • Writer: Stephanie Hanlon
    Stephanie Hanlon
  • Feb 12
  • 2 min read

Want to make the world a better place, eat healthier, get in shape, create stability for your family, resist harmful systems, and save money all at the same time? Then start growing your own food today.


Growing your own food has quietly been reframed as a luxury hobby—raised beds, specialty soils, fertilizers, time most people don’t have. But with food costs rising, forever chemicals being approved for use in our food system, economic instability, and social safety nets eroding, growing food is no longer a hobby.


Growing food is resilience.


Food independence used to be common knowledge. Now, reclaiming it may be essential.


The good news: feeding yourself does not have to be expensive, complicated, or land-intensive. No matter your living situation—even in an apartment—there are ways to start producing food now.


Three Things You Can Do This Month to Get Started


1. Stop Throwing Away Nutrients

Vegetable scraps, eggshells, and coffee grounds are not waste — they are future soil. Compost builds fertility, reduces household waste, and dramatically improves yields. Compost can be as simple as a hole in the

ground covered with dirt.


2. Start Seeds Indoors Using What You Already Have

Recycled containers become seed trays. Grocery-store peppers, tomatoes, squash, and sweet potatoes all contain viable seeds or sprouting ability. One pepper can mean years of peppers.



3. Pay Attention


Notice your sun, your waste, your food habits, how you collect water, and your neighbors. Food security begins with awareness — and attention is the first act of resistance. Start thinking of how you will sustain you and your family in times where there may be shortages or supply chain disruptions.


If that’s all you do this month, you’re already growing something.


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Revolution Garden is a column documenting my journey toward food independence and environmental stewardship — a process of relearning what our collective ancestors practiced for thousands of years: a mutually beneficial relationship with land and community.


Visit the Historic Mableton Trading Post on Mable Street near Peak Street to trade seeds, vegetables, books, and art.


If you’d like to learn more about me or support this work:

 
 
 

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