The Keys to Living Sustainably + My Thoughts on Supporting Local Businesses, Farmers, & Restaurants

Adopting a zero-waste mindset & lifestyle is all about being more conscious about what you’re buying, and eliminating all other unnecessary items from your life. 

Starting routines, forming habits.

Supporting small + local businesses has always been something I value deeply. It aligns with my philosophy about conscious consumerism and the importance of voting with our dollar.

Anytime we hand over our money to purchase something we are also saying that we believe in that company, its values, and their ethos. Majority of the time without even knowing it, you probably wouldn’t agree with most companies values and practices, which means it’s pivotal to do your research and truly ask yourself if what you’re about to purchase or who you’re about to support will benefit you and those around you.

Why shopping + eating local is so important:

Rather than driving miles to a super market, try shopping at your local farmers market in the summer and your local health food store year round. You’ll not only benefit from eating fresh, organic local produce, but you’ll also have the opportunity to reduce pollution and give a much-needed boost to your community and local businesses.

Try eating at restaurants that source majority of their ingredients from local + sustainable farms or businesses. This not only provides you with a wholesome organic meal with friends & family, but it also provides revenue for the farms or businesses where that particular restaurant/cafe is sourcing it’s ingredients and products from. 

One of my favorite sustainable and local hospitality companies in Ann Arbor is SavCo hospitality. Sava Farah, founder/ceo of SavCo and her team run a line of restaurants including Sava’s, Wilma’s, Aventura, and Dixboro House (coming soon). One of my favorite restaurants within SavCo is Savas, which sources their ingredients from Gateway organic farm, and various other local food growers & businesses (such as Zingerman’s) for the majority of their products and ingredients. I love supporting restaurants and cafe’s like Sava’s that not only source their ingredients locally, but who also promote small businesses within their own. Another one of my favorite restaurants/cafe’s within SavCo is Wilma’s, an urban health cafe with a west coast feel and the BEST avocado toast. Wilma’s also carries GoNanas-(a Michigan local & mini vegan + gluten-free banana bread company), and has featured their vegan banana bread as a menu item in the past. 

Whether you shop locally, eat locally, or support local business, every effort will go a long way in preserving the health & happiness of you, the planet, and those around you. 


my go-to local + sustainable restaurants & markets in Ann Arbor

+ local Businesses I support

  • SavCo hospitality- Founder/CEO: Sava Farah, focused on exceptional hospitality and creating a unique dining experience within each restaurant. SavCo is focused on community involvement + supporting local small businesses & giving back.

  • Sava’s- Lively + nourishing dining experience & the best sweety fries you’ll eat.

  • Wilma’s- West-coast vibe health food cafe with bomb smoothie bowls & avo toast.

  • Spencer- Small farm-table style restaurant (all ingredients are local + seasonal & menu changes weekly).

  • The Lunch Room- 100% vegan menu with a diverse selection of nourishing plant-based foods, using local + organic produce when possible and everything’s made from scratch! I love their focus on sustainability and their environmentally friendly practices.

  • Argus Farm Stop- A place for local farmers to sell their locally grown produce & goods year-round.

  • People’s Food Co-op- Natural food grocery store with deep roots in providing local and nourishing food to the community at a reasonable cost.

  • Kerrytown Farmer’s market- The place to get all the local Michigan goods & meet local farmers.

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Wilma’s

Wilma’s

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People’s Food Co-op

People’s Food Co-op

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Wilma’s

Wilma’s

GoNana’s sold @ Wilma’s!

GoNana’s sold @ Wilma’s!

Sava’s Hippie bowl

Sava’s Hippie bowl

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As you may know, I recently become a GoNana’s brand ambassador which is a student-founded local vegan & gluten-free mini banana bread company based in Yspilanti MI. Their vegan banana breads are sold at over twenty retailers across MI, including Wilma’s and Teaspressa in Ann Arbor. They’re expanding, and will soon be shipping outside of Michigan!

I decided to become an ambassador for them because it’s deeply connected with my passion towards supporting local + growing businesses that value sustainability. GoNana’s even uses Michigan maple syrup and produce from the Eastern Market in Detroit when available, while also working with other local Michigan businesses year-round.

Their passion towards helping others live a healthy & balanced lifestyle is in total alignment with my whole philosophy + vibe. And one of my biggest intentions for 2020 is to support local businesses as much as possible, and adopt more sustainable lifestyle practices to improve the health of our planet and the community.

See what they’re all about here: http://eatgonanas.com/why-gonanas + Use my coupon code “HEALTHFULHAN” for 15% off your order!

How to improve the health + happiness of you & the planet through supporting local + adopting more sustainable practices:

However much you care about the planet, it can be hard at times to help when you have to tend to your own busy life first. To make matters simpler, I’ve compiled a few quick tips for implementing more sustainable lifestyle practices into your routine:  

  • Shop + eat locally: Never underestimate the power of your individual support towards a local, small business. 

  • Less meat, more veg: Less is more when it comes to consuming animal products. It requires much less land, water, and energy to derive food from animals than from vegetables. If you can’t become a full vegetarian or vegan, try becoming a “reducitarian” and start by reducing your meat consumption to one-two times a week. Use the extra money you save from cutting out meat & use it to purchase local organic fruits & veggies instead. 

  • Choose Fair Trade Ingredients: Purchasing fair trade ingredients, food, and products not only offers peace of mind for you, but it also offers companies with a credible way to make sure that their trade has a positive impact for the farmers and workers growing ingredients. It also provides jobs for farmers and enables buyers to trade with producers who would otherwise be excluded from the market. Choosing fair-trade and ethical sourced ingredients helps organizations to understand deeper about working conditions, treatment of workers, and trends to develop knowledge, skills, and resources in order to improve the lives of many farmers and growers around the world. 

  • Avoid synthetic hydrogenated/GMO oils + palm oil: Nobody benefits from consuming these harmful oils, not you, the planet, or the farmers. Instead, opt for extra virgin coconut, olive, or avocado oil. 

  • Choose organic as much as possible: Shop at farmers markets in the summer, and local food co-ops in the winter. My two favorite local co-op food markets to visit in the winter are listed above (Argus Farm Stop and People’s Food Co-op). They both offer local produce year-round. 

  • Create a sustainable shopping kit + strive towards adopting a more conscious consumerism mindset: Bring reusable totes & insulated totes. Use mesh bags for loose items, such as legumes or small produce items. Bring reusable produce bags for fruits & veggies. Use seal-able glass jars for buying loose items in bulk & to store in at home, and above all don’t forget your grocery list so you don’t over purchase! 

Waste isn’t waste, until we waste it

  • Another biggie is the power of reducing food waste + composting. Reducing food waste is one of the single most effective methods for reducing green house gasses which contribute to global warming. Reducing food waste is where we each have the ability to make a significant impact. Both the spoiled produce and the week-old leftovers in your fridge most likely used up a lot of resources for it to be produced and grown, all to end up in the landfill. Grown, packaged, transported, and placed in the supermarket just to be purchased and placed in the fridge. All of these steps produce a significant amount of greenhouse gases, which means if we can first reduce the amount of food waste individually, then we can make a massive difference on a globally.

  • Try and compost as much as you possibly can. Once food scraps end up in land fills and begin rotting, they produce methane gas (a harmful greenhouse gas). keep your compost contained in your own garden to reduce harmful greenhouse gasses. Try a worm farm in the summer and let the worms compost all your food scraps or purchase a bamboo mini compost bin for your kitchen in the winter.

We can ALL make a difference. It starts with what we do in our own homes and community. Who we support, what we consume, what we purchase, and what practices we choose to take part in all play an important role in the health of ourselves & the home we all share.

Here’s a few non-negotiable every-day eco-friendly products I use: 

  • Hydro flask-goes everywhere with me, basically my best friend :) 


  • Bamboo tooth brush-why not make the first thing I do in the morning sustainable?


  • Mason jars for storing smoothies, food on the go, or drinking water at home-looks cute and I’m not contributing to plastic waste.


  • Bamboo spork + glass/bamboo lunch containers-durable & sturdy for travel.


  • FjallRaven Kanken backpack-both aesthetically pleasing and high quality, yes please. My Kankeen has been around the world and back.


links to my fav spots + businesses in Ann Arbor

If you’ve read this far, I LOVE you. Thank you for taking the time to learn about sustainability & the importance of supporting local!




~Hanna



Hanna Trajlov