www.eatlocalchallenge.com

Putting my time & energy where my mouth is

by Sara Zoë

This Saturday will be the Seacoast area of New Hampshire and southern Maine's first Holiday Farmers' Market. Almost 30 farmers and food producers will be there, selling everything from fresh greens to turkeys to venison to bread, with a whole lot of winter vegetables for good measure. We'll have music and students of the McIntosh Atlantic Culinary Academy will be doing cooking demonstrations of over 13 different local products throughout the 9am - 2pm market. Best of all for me, I will be able to stock up not only for my 100-mile Thanksgiving, but also for the next month, until our second Holiday Market takes place on December 22nd.

The seeds were sown a year ago. The seasonal markets end at the end of October, and I was in pretty much the same boat as everyone else - my access to local food had just gotten much more challenging, and more limited. But last year I was able to see that there is still plenty of food to be had - it was just hiding out on individual farms, and required phone calls to arrange shopping excursions into the barn, where wonderful food was being stored. I can do this, and I will again because it is worth it to me and I enjoy visiting farms, but it is certainly not as conducive to eating locally as a farmers' market, where you still get to buy directly from the farmer but all your trips are condensed into one.

Eat Local Frederick

By Sarah Irani

Last year I decided to promote the Eat Local Challenge in my hometown, Frederick, Maryland. We already boast several farmers markets, a wonderful food co-op, and a rich agricultural heritage. We had a few poorly attended events last summer. For example, there were only four of us at the potluck, but the kale soup was delicious and the church gave us the leftover homemade Communion bread to break and share. 

This year, things are a little more exciting. A friend of mine has produced an award-winning documentary entitled, Organic Frederick. She's taking the film on the road and I'm along for the ride promoting the Eat Local Frederick campaign!

Eating Penny-Wise: Getting the Conversation Started

by Jennifer BB

By now I shouldn’t be surprised by how often conversations about food come up with perfect strangers—but when the focus is on eating fresh and local, I’m still taken aback.  This happened most recently at a book signing for Lidia Bastianich’s new book (Lidia’s Italy).   Even though this was a cookbook event I never presume that folks are interested in the issues around eating locally.  I found myself on line for an hour sandwiched between someone who was just learning how to cook and another who was trying to figure out how to eat well with diabetes.  Without engineering it (I promise!) the conversation turned to eating locally on a budget. 

That Time of Year

by Sarah Irani

It is the time of year again when Americans start dreaming of turkeys and stuffing, but too many of us have no idea where our food even comes from. Well, things are changing and this is a great time of year to start! Let this be a seaon of gratitude for the people who work hard everyday to grow and raise the abundance of food we enjoy in this land. As for me and my family, we are going to thank them in person when we head over to the farmers market this weekend.

In fact, the Washington Post has done a fantastic article in this week's Food Section, featuring the Locavores, the Eat Local Challenge, the 100-Mile Diet and the folks enjoying the local harvest in Frederick, Maryland.  The Post has given the readers in the Metro DC area a wonderful guide to area farmers markets, co-ops and small farms where people can get their turkeys, vegetables, pies, and all the fixen's for a truly wonderful, truly local holiday.

soulfood

posted by Sara Zoë

the markets are mostly over for the season up here in New England. It's getting too cold and dark to grow produce--but this story from the Eat Local Foods Coalition of Maine blog warmed my soul. An excerpt:

A recent Saturday was cold, windy, and rainy. We farmers were miserable as we huddled under our tents . Barbara, a lady who lives downtown and buys a few vegetables each week, came to the market and bought squash and carrots for a turkey soup . An hour later she was back - with four bowls of steaming, delicious turkey soup for the wet, cold farmers.

100-mile Thanksgiving Resources

by Sara Zoë

The localvores are going strong up in the Mad River Valley of Vermont. They've put together an excellent resource page - including local recipes! - for the 100-mile Thanksgiving.

In the News

By Sarah Irani

Last week I sat down to lunch with Gazette reporter, Katherine Mullen, at the same great local venue where Erik and I listened to local musicians, Trent Wagler and the Steel Wheels, a few days beforehand. She and I talked about local agrictulture, local dining establishments, agrarianism, culture, and the Eat Local Challenge- Frederick. She wrote a wonderful article about our conversation:

Artist wants residents to dine on foods from nearby farms

by Katherine Mullen for the Frederick Gazette
Thursday, Aug. 17, 2006

With the abundance of farm markets and produce in Frederick County, Sarah Irani wants residents to think about what they’re serving for dinner and to start eating more locally grown foods...

Not everyone is a gardener

by Jasmine

I am not a gardener. I have dabbled in gardening and failed miserably. The year that I rented a garden plot in Burlington, Vermont’s Intervale had to be one of the most humbling experiences in my brief gardening career. The garden plot comes marked out and with the soil freshly turned by the blades of a rototiller (or more likely a tractor). I bought seeds and seedlings. I marked out rows. I planned companion plantings. I tried to plan succession planting but a little math soon led me to see that 70 days from the end of the season was only three weeks after the beginning of the season. This is where the adventure began.

Local Florida Fish?

by Claire Tompkins

"I think that enjoyment and pleasure are terms that have truly been lost from our vocabulary. We don't appreciate our food anymore. If we don't take care of the resources, we won't have it to enjoy."  So says Miami chef Steve Raichlen. 

He notes that organic farming is particularly challenging in Florida due to voracious tropical pests.  He supports local agriculture but is personally more interested in simple eating seasonally, which I expect doesn't always fly too well in high end restaurants. 

Case in point, elsewhere in the article, fish flown in from Alaska are mentioned.  But these chefs are in Florida, on the ocean.  Aren't there good local fish there?  C'mon!  Raichlen mentions seasonal (2 months) swordfish, but that's it.

Claire is an enthusiastic backyard gardener.  Her nascent blog is here:  www.organiclifeblog.com