In case you were starting to lose your way on this green journey, a new report has been issued to reaffirm the importance of consuming local food. So, put the shopping cart full of plastic bags and guilty convenience back where you got it, check this out and head back out to your local farmers market:

The report, “Home Grown,” released recently from Food Solutions New England, a University of New Hampshire-based initiative linking farm, food and nutrition issues, finds that the local food system in New Hampshire is a $3.3 billion industry that employs 81,000 people statewide.

Is there anyone out there who still cuts up those plastic six-pack ring carriers used to hold cans or bottles in a multi-pack? It’s quite noble of you, but apparently not necessary.
The story used to be that if we let them go uncut into our garbage, and thus into the landfill, poor birds and other creatures would get their poor heads stuck in them and die a horrible, starving death. Six-pack rings today, however, are photodegradable, nontoxic and recyclable. That means they break down in sunlight. They are also approved by the EPA for packaging use.

Milk. It’s good for you, and good for our state, too.
Dairy farms in New England have been fighting to stay relevant when most national business has gone out west. And they’re putting up their promoting dukes by highlighting a few benefits that anyone looking to live a more sustainable life can reconcile: Buying locally made dairy products cuts down on travel and packaging that would come with a national brand, and maintaining local farms will also maintain open space. We get to enjoy the land and the working of that land provides jobs, sustenance and revenue.

Wendy Stevens of Weare is one busy woman. As an herbalist, reiki master and certified essence practitioner, she’s well equipped to run Garden Plum Enterprises – an online and retail shop, art gallery, and website (gardenplum.com) dedicated to natural healing.
Not only does she find joy in healing people, but she’s all for healing the environment, too. So in 2009, when the Weare Farmers Market needed a new director, she was the natural choice. Wendy took a few moments out of her busy schedule to tell us more about the market and green living.

The newly established Concord Winter Farmers Market is about ready for its second event this year, to be held this Saturday (3/27) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
It will be held again March 27, with a possible April date. The farmers market will be held in the greenhouse at Cole Gardens, 430 Loudon Road.

We all love a loaf of homemade bread or a warm batch of homemade chocolate-chip cookies. But there are certain things that, for whatever reason, we assume just appear fully formed on grocery store shelves. Well, it turns out, they don't. Just about any food can be made at home, and the best part is, the homemade version is almost always healthier and better for the environment than the store-bought version, allowing you to eliminate suspect ingredients and excess packaging.

Because we at GreenGuideNH.com never cease working to bring you more information, readers, this weekend we made a special trip to The Farmers Diner in Quechee, Vt., purely for research purposes. If you haven't been there, we very seriously recommend it.

You see, this really is a farmer's diner -- the restaurant's goal is to serve food from local farmers and small-scale producers. Its menu is a local who's who, including Cabot Creamery, Vermont Butter and Cheese, Harpoon Sodas and even New Hampshire's own Boggy Meadow Farm cheese company.

According to New Hampshire Made, the statewide organization whose mission is to promote New Hampshire-made products and services:
1. Going local supports the local economy and family farms.
2. You can enjoy foods that are in season, at their freshest and most nutritious.
3. Transporting food products over long distances is harder on the environment.
4. It brings you closer to the people who grow and produce your food.
5. It contributes to the preservation of open space and farmland in your region.

Karen Barker, 53, of Laconia is a retired occupational therapist who works at Laconia Village Bakery. Her REAL job, though, is running Sustainable Sustenance, “a community group of folks gathered around a common interest in eating local, organic and whole foods.”

Sustainable Sustenance isn’t a formal group, and there are no membership requirements or dues. Members meet once a month for a potluck. We interviewed Karen about the group recently.

Organic foods are grown according to certain production standards, which include prohibiting the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms or ionizing radiation. Livestock and animals that produce dairy and eggs are raised without the routine use of growth hormones and antibiotics.

Organic production is federally regulated in the United States, and converting land to organic status is a three-year process.

Community supported agriculture lets people subscribe to a farm for a season, receiving a weekly basket of produce.

Most CSAs ask that members pay for the season upfront, but some accept weekly or monthly payments. Some require that members work a small number of hours on the farm during growing season, and some trade the fresh produce in exchange for help with harvesting or deliveries.

CSA seasons typically run from late spring through early fall. According to localharvest.org, the number of CSAs in the U.S. was estimated at 50 in 1990 and has since grown to more than 1,000.

Visit the state's virtual farmers’ market: http://www.nhfarms.com