On average, each calorie of food on your plate requires 7-10 calories of energy from fossil fuel to get there. But it wasn't always like that - until 1840, US food production depended almost entirely on renewable energy sources including labor. Currently, on the other hand, agriculture and forestry are responsible for 1/3 of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally! Download this free guide to learn much more about greenhouse gases and food.

A Ministry of the Church of the Nativity, Raleigh NC. "We seek a connection to God through our connections with one another, through caring for the natural world, and through an examination of our interior life. All these things are a form of prayer. We hope that the reflections of this website and blog reveal and inspire this belief,  and help lead to a restored planet." Learn more here. 

Interested in composting? In your backyard? As a congregation? Want to get your business involved? Learn how to do all this and more at the NC Composting Council website. Check out their resources and get involved today!

"We take our name, Anathoth, from a Biblical passage where the prophet Jeremiah summons the Israelites to “plant gardens” and “seek the peace of the city” in response to violence (Jeremiah 29). We envision people of faith engaging with root causes of violence, poverty, and malnutrition in rural communities by working collaboratively to create a more just, sustainable, and equitable food system.
Our mission is to heal divisions between neighbors and the land by growing food together in Cedar Grove, NC." Learn more here!

From the School of Divinity at Wake Forest University.

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"For faith leaders working on food insecurity, health disparity, or ecological degradation, the level of complexity is immense. We can easily become overwhelmed by the scale and difficulty of the problems our communities face. Which thread do you pull? Where to begin?"

Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI-USA) believes in that order to ensure a safe, adequate supply of healthy food, we must protect farm workers and encourage environmentally sound farming. We see environmental sustainability, economic viability, biodiversity, and social justice as inextricably linked. Therefore, the best way to ensure a just, sustainable future for farming is to create a reality where farmers feel supported and protected, and have the resources to thrive. Check out their good work! 

If you’re in the Raleigh, Durham, or Asheville areas, consider CompostNow for your composting needs! For the price of 1 cup of coffee a week, the folks at CompostNow will pick up your food scraps and transform them into rich compost; transforming our depleted soil and souls. Choose to have the finished product delivered to you for use, or donated to local farmers and organizational partners!

Dr. Kathy Shea shares 10 principles of Earth-friendly, Healthy Eating in this NCIPL booklet. Download it from our website and share it with your congregation!

Do you know who grows your food? Making the food-faith-climate connection means working with local farmers as we create a more just and sustainable food system. Schedule a farm tour with the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association  to learn more about what local and sustainable agriculture looks like. Go with friends, your family, or your church! Get to know the folks who grow your food, and while your at it, advocate for more just food and farm policy in North Carolina. Learn more about Carolina Farm Stewardship Association here. 

Does your congregation have lawn space sitting idle? Become a Sacred Grounds Congregation through the National Wildlife Federation by creating a wildlife habitat on church grounds — a space that invites congregants to experience the Divine outside the church building; a space where children can listen to birds or marvel at tadpoles, investing in the Foodscape of all Creation.

"The NC State Compost Learning Lab (CL2) is an education, research and demonstration site in the heart of the 1,500-acre Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory in Raleigh, North Carolina. The site has 26 types of backyard composting and vermi-composting units, both medium and small scale, and areas for hands-on training activities. A 40-ft by 30-ft Worm Barn houses a dozen types of worm bins ranging in size from household bins to a 40 square feet continuous flow-through raised bed!"

Project Drawdown is the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming. One hundred solutions are proposed, based on existing technology and processes. Reduced Food Waste is the solution #3!

"When food is wasted, all the energy, resources, and money that went into producing, processing, packaging, and transporting it are wasted too. [...] If measures are taken to reduce food waste by improving storage and transport systems, generating public awareness, and changing consumer behavior, this solution could lead to substantial reductions in waste and carbon emissions."

PHW is an initiative of the NC Council of Churches, designed to bridge issues of faith, health, and social justice. It seeks to provide people of faith with the necessary tools to lead healthier, more fulfilling lives. By improving the health and well-being of people of faith, we hope to impact the larger community and reduce the health care burden on our state. PHW also offer mini-grants to congregations for their garden, health, and sustainability projects! Check them out! 

The things that we throw “away” are never really gone. They languish in landfills and contribute to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. Learn how to cut back and use less! Check out Toward Zero Waste and embrace the change.

"Now in our ninth growing season, Root Cause Farm (formerly The Lord's Acre) continues to inspire new ways of living in community and increasing food access. We don’t buy the “giver”and “receiver” labels of charity—everyone has something to offer and something they need. What we do believe in is weaving folk’s strengths, passions, talents, and creativity into addressing issues like food security, loneliness, prejudice, and the isolation of modern society. Yes, Root Cause Farm believes a garden and the acts of learning, growing, and eating food together can accomplish this. We believe it because we see it every day."

"Simply put, we can’t think of a better place to be in touch with God and with each other than on a farm. There’s something about sinking our fingers into the soil, of nurturing the lives of plants and animals, of harvesting the gifts of creation and sharing them with others… There’s just something about it all that feels like, well, worship." Learn more about Farm Church here. 

In partnership with The Duke Endowment, Resourceful Communities provides rural churches with training to strengthen skills, small grants to support innovative projects, and networking opportunities to build new partnerships and connect with community groups. Faith & Food coordinators are available to help rural North Carolina churches utilize their resources—land, kitchens, volunteers—to engage in their local food economies and address root causes of hunger. They also help deepen rural congregations' food ministries and strengthen community engagement through innovative partnerships and community projects. 

Project Drawdown is the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming. One hundred solutions are proposed, based on existing technology and processes. Composting is the solution #60!

"In 2015, an estimated 38 percent of food waste was composted in the United States; 57 percent was composted in the European Union. If all lower-income countries reached the U.S. rate and all higher-income countries achieved the E.U. rate, composting could avoid methane emissions from landfills equivalent to 2.3 gigatons of carbon dioxide by 2050."