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Living in the city brings you closer to where the action is. Abundant professional opportunities, cultural activities, and resources are right outside your door. At the same time, densely populated areas can mean living in tighter, smaller spaces. These spaces aren’t exactly known for having room to grow your own garden.
Because convenience is so prevalent, you might find yourself taking advantage of fast food on every corner. Yet, grocery shopping might involve hauling a smaller number of bags up to a high-rise apartment. More frequent trips to the store are less convenient. It’s challenging to squeeze a higher number of trips into an already busy week.
So, how do city dwellers make eating healthy less effortless? Even though they may not have access to a ton of green space, there are turnkey ways to ensure fresh food is accessible at home. Let’s explore them below.
Food Delivery
If it’s not easy to go to the grocery store, you can make the grocery store come to you. City dwellers have the option of using healthy grocery delivery services from major chains or smaller businesses. This way, they can stock up on the fresh ingredients they need for the week without having to complete multiple purchases.
Subscriptions to grocery delivery services make it more economical, too. Some chains also offer exclusive weekly digital coupons on items shoppers have delivered or pick up curbside. These savings aren’t provided on the same items to in-store customers. Eating healthy in an urban area becomes more convenient and cost-effective. Ordering and delivery are often done from an app, with the option to automate the items households consume each week.
Besides grocery delivery, there are also meal kits. You subscribe to the service, plug in any dietary preferences, and choose from weekly meal selections. Meal kits offer access to pre-portioned fresh and organic foods. Subscribers can sometimes choose which day they want their meals delivered. They can also skip a weekly delivery if they’re going on vacation, so they won’t end up with wasted food.
Community Supported Agriculture Programs
Just because there’s not a bunch of green space within a city, it doesn’t mean there aren’t pastures nearby. Farms might sell crops across state or international lines, but the farmers also distribute products locally. City dwellers can purchase those crops via grocery stores and farmers’ markets. But they can also join a community supported agriculture program, also known as a CSA program.
CSA programs work by delivering a weekly or bi-weekly box of produce to members in exchange for a fee. Some members pay the fee in smaller payments over time, while others pay a yearly cost all at once. The box members receive contains a share of the items the farm has produced recently.
Becoming a member of a CSA program gives city dwellers access to a supply of seasonal produce. While they may have to adjust their weekly and monthly menus to accommodate the items, it can be cost-effective. Residents don’t have to rely on a store’s supplies and sales. In addition, they don’t have to make arrangements to visit farmers’ markets or stores as often. They’re supporting their healthy lifestyles and local farmers simultaneously.
Urban Food Hubs
If you’ve never lived in a city, you may not realize urban agriculture exists. Urban farms and food hubs are usually community-sponsored projects dedicating a certain space to growing crops. Now, this doesn’t mean you’re going to find rolling green pastures and tractors harvesting crops within city streets. However, you might find the rooftops of buildings turned into gardens.
You might also find smaller spaces converted into contained growing spots. For instance, herb gardens within existing landscaping or chicken coops integrated into a current park space. Urban agriculture projects are prevalent enough to contribute 15% to 20% to the global food supply.
Because these initiatives are often community based, they may also require membership and residency. Nonetheless, urban food hubs can be funded by government grants and extend their reach to vulnerable populations. Urban agriculture is a way for residents to bring farms to the city. While production may be smaller, it makes healthy food more accessible and less expensive.
Healthy Eating for Urban Residents
The advantages of living in the city seem endless at first. You have access to major employers, healthcare facilities, transportation systems, and endless entertainment. But besides the noise, pollution, and crowded spaces, city dwellers face unique challenges when it comes to healthy eating.
Residents don’t necessarily have the space to store a large amount of food. They may also live in buildings where it’s inconvenient to transport groceries from the car to the kitchen. Furthermore, there may be a higher proportion of quick-food options than freshly grown produce. It’s easier to hop into the corner convenience store or fast-food restaurant than it is to cook at home.
Options such as grocery delivery, meal kits, CSA programs, and urban agriculture change the dynamic. City dwellers can get budget-friendly and convenient access to foods that support a healthier lifestyle. While some of these options may not fit the conventional mold, they demonstrate how thinking outside the box expands possibilities. You can live in the city and still be able to eat homegrown food.