The Power of Empowered Consumers

Last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to listen and speak at the NOFA-VT Winter Conference, held at the University of Vermont. How amazing it was to be surrounded by inspiring and dedicated people making incredible change in the world! We’ve got a great community in this state, and I am thankful for it every day.

One of the talks I gave was titled Be an Empowered Consumer. I think it is particularly important to have a discussion on this topic, in an effort to make conversations about food accessible to all. Everybody eats. And everybody should feel like they can engage in the food community at the level at which they are comfortable. To highlight this idea, we started with a question. What is good food? It may sound simple, but the answers from the room were all different. We heard words like fresh, sustainable, and fair. We also heard words like nourishing, healthful, and tasty. Soon, we had filled up a board with people’s visions of what good food meant to them. There were a lot of different ideas about what makes good food, good, and all of the ideas are vitally important to reflect on and to respect.

There is no “right” way to eat. Food trends come and go, and vouching for definitive, restrictive food rules can do more harm than good. In today’s food culture, there is room to have a nuanced understanding of good food.  It’s important for everyone to feel empowered to make those decisions. Awareness, combined with information and engagement are tools you can use to get hands-on and feel involved in your food community at the level you feel comfortable. Most are not going to be a 100% localvore, and I certainly don’t envy a diet made up of only root vegetables for months at a time. Most are not going eat exclusively organic or vegan or fair trade. In fact, most people need a balance of choices that let them live their lifestyles, enjoy their food, feel nourished, and comfortable in their array of decisions.

So, how can people make those decisions in an informed way? During the workshop we discussed five traits of Empowered Consumers, and the various ways  tools can be used to drive change.

1. Highly Informed – You can get your information from many sources, and you can be the authority on your own decisions. This could include visiting farms, asking questions at farmers’ markets, attending an educational event, or reading print material, like brochures or online articles. Tip: Keep a lookout for brochures in the aisles of City Market. We have over 20 different up-to-date brochures to help you find some of the information you might be looking for, like what grass fed means, what Kosher labels look like, and where our yogurt vendors source their milk from.
2. Mobile – In an age where so many people have access to smartphones and public computers, you have the ability to gather and share information that can transcend physical distances.
3. Loyalty – Your consumer loyalty is a valuable tool. By repeating purchases from certain farmers or vendors that you trust, you help them weather market inconsistencies and show support for the practices they utilize.
4. Hands-On – We are lucky to live in a time and a place where you can get really involved in the food community. Beyond the “voting with your dollar” idea, you can actually participate in decision-making processes. That’s something the Co-op fully embodies. By voting for the Board of Directors, participating in meetings and events, and vocalizing opinions, you can certainly make a big difference.
5. Global - With a lot of buzz about the local food movement, we can forget that food diversity is important for healthful nutrition, and strong economies of all scale. Vermont certainly doesn’t grow bananas, pineapples, or avocados, but they can be important additions to the endless amounts of root vegetables we eat in the depth of January. Here, empowered consumers should make informed decisions about how their purchases impact the global market. For example, this may be a great opportunity to learn about Fair Trade agreements and sustainable agricultural practices.

This is a huge topic, one that is beyond one blog post and is beyond a 90 minute workshop. But it’s certainly food for thought, if you will, and a topic worth mulling over. Engagement + Information = Empowerment. What does this look like for you?

Looking for more resources? Check out our Community Classes & Events for an opportunity that might interest you! For a digital version of our store-wide brochures, you can click here.