www.eatlocalchallenge.com

Thoughts on Sustainability

The challenge of this October Eat Local Challenge is turning out to be flexibility in the name of long term sustainability.

For all the right reasons, I ate out-of-town yogurt and out-of-town cheese this week (as you'll see when I post my food log). I usually make my own yogurt, not because I'm a homesteader or particularly ambitious but because I don't have a regular, convenient source for it. Making yogurt is a long process because of the six-hour incubation period and it doesn't fit neatly into my schedule: too much time for after work and too little time to run as I sleep or while I'm at work. I need a weekend day, and there are only so many of those to go around, especially in October. So, I ended up eating some of the yogurt I use for starter culture. And while my cheese came from a local producer, deeper research revealed that they source their milk from Vermont (just outside my 100 miles).

There is a local brand of organic yogurt to be had, but my favorite natural foods store doesn't carry it anymore. It seems that it's a slow seller because its consistency varies from week to week. This is a natural occurrence when you use real biological ingredients from nature and no "cheater" chemicals. You'd think that natural foods shoppers would prefer this, but it turns out they don't.

I used to be able to get that brand of local yogurt at a nearby organic foods store, but they recently went out of business because, as they said, "it has not been economically viable to continue with a philosophy of a truly (98%) organic store." To say that the owner was inflexible in his dedication to organic products would be an understatement. I feel that his rigidity did a disservice to the community. Perhaps a philosophy of 80-90% organic would have kept his doors open. Perhaps a degree of flexibility now would have better served his goals for the future. I took his going out of business personally--he went out of business right before the October ELC and I'd counted on them being a food source when I signed up!

The woman who makes most of my raspberry jam also makes fig jam. She grows the raspberries herself and they are organic. She buys the figs in a supermarket. She tried cultivating fig trees in the past, but the Connecticut winters were too much for them (even bringing them indoors). She mentioned that she may try again in the future. I imagine that each time I buy her locally-made-with-non-local-ingredients fig jam, I am part of the encouragement for her to try to grow them again.

I believe that if we buy from local producers even when some of their ingredients are not local, they will eventually realize there's a market and start producing for that market. I make a point of asking each time, "Where do you source your ingredients and do you think you could ever source them locally?" When you see not-exactly-local items in my food log, they represent a small compromise on the path to a bigger goal (and it's certainly not for lack of trying!).

One day, there will be a food store on my way home from work that carries all of the local foods and ingredients I need. The proprietor will be able to tell me where everything came from. Since this is my fantasy, they're also open past 6 PM on a week night.

Sophie lives and eats in Newtown, CT (just east of Danbury). She chronicles her adventures as a local foodie at Late Bloomers Farm.

Psst,...did you hear about the spinach?

By Jennifer BB

There hasn't been a national freak out the way there was  last year around the recall of E. coli infected spinach but food recalls are still occurring and there have been two within the last month.  The first was a recall at the end of August related to spinach infected with Salmonella and the most recent was last week's Dole recall of E.coli infected mixed salad greens.  Discrete signs at our local Wegman's Supermarket and a Google search gave me the low down on the latter but I'm left wondering if this is just becoming ordinary news these days.  "What beautiful weather we're having, hey, shame about that spinach recall." 

Washington Post: A Shorter Link between the Farm and the Dinner Plate

by Jen Maiser

The Washington Post this week published an article discussing the local food movement specific to the Washington DC area. (via Ethicurean)

American Flatbread in Ashburn sits a few turns off the Dulles Greenway on the cusp of burgeoning suburbia. Parked in a strip shopping center behind a McDonald's and sharing a wall with a Glory Days Grill, this is an unlikely place to find a food movement.

Customers at the new pizzeria dine on weekly specials that include poultry and pork raised free-range and greens that are freshly picked. Much of the food is organic. But the real emphasis is local.

Continue reading here

Simply in Season, a book review

by Liz

Once upon a time, many people in the US grew at least some portion of their own food.  They ate what was grown nearby, according to the seasons of the year.  Staples like flour, sugar, dry goods and spices were always readily available, but the fresh produce of the moment was determined by the season of the year.  It would have been unheard of to have access to asparagus in February; asparagus is a spring food, meant to be eaten in large quantities when the tender shoots emerged from the patch in your backyard.  Not to mention, the backyard asparagus is basically free compared to that $6 asparagus from the organic market.

Since the advent of the industrial revolution, we have been straying from our agricultural heritage, and have turned to much more energy-intensive methods of food production.  Instead of small, diverse farms peppering the landscape, the majority of our food today is grown on mega-farms not limited to corn and soy.  Monocultures of tomatoes, spinach and carrots stretch as far as the eye can see in certain parts of California, dependent on large machinery, petrochemical-based fertilizers and pesticides, farm subsidies, cheap migrant labor and cross-country refrigerated trucking.  Is this the kind of food system to be proud of?

Eat Local Challenge- Frederick

By Sarah Irani

The Eat Local Challenge has spread to Frederick, Maryland! September is our challenge month. First, we'll launch the challenge with an event at the Common Market on August 30, at 6:30pm. The event will feature a discussion on the importance of eating locally, the far-reaching impact of our individual food choices and an introduction to the September Challenge. The Common Market will provide some delicious snacks grown right here in our foodshed.The purpose of this gathering is twofold. First we want to raise awareness of the shortcomings of the industrial agricultural model and bring together resources for local eating and sustainable agriculture here in Frederick County. Secondly, this will be a great chance to meet other locavores in the area.

At the end of September we'll host an Eat Local picnic potluck and share our new food adventures.

Check out our website: Eat Local Challenge- Frederick!

Sarah is a sculptor living in Maryland. She is a member of the Summer Creek Farm CSA and the Common Market Co-op.

Chase's Daily

by Liz

When you have a garden, it's so easy to get spoiled by all the top quality produce that you grow.  Dining out can often be disappointing because its clear many restaurants don't feel the way about fresh vegetables as you do. Chase's Daily is the exception, and the place in Belfast, Maine to head for local food on the menu.  The Chase family owns and operates a 500-acre farm in nearby Freedom, and grows a large portion of the produce they serve in this breakfast and lunch spot.  Dinners are only served on Fridays, and are top notch, as is the in-house bakery.

June is still on the cusp of the growing season in Maine, and our fresh produce choices at this time of year mostly include greens of all kinds, a "complaint" of many ELC-ers in May.  After months of living off the root cellar, jars of canned goods and the freezer, we've been delighted to see the tender greens of early summer, although after a while, we're left craving more substantial veggies.  Unfortunately for us, even peas are still a couple of weeks away!

May Ends--the Challenge Continues

 

By Jennifer BB

It would be an understatement to say that this year's May Eat Local Challenge and last year's, which took place in August, were miles apart--literally.  Here in the Northeast (upstate New York to be exact) the farmers markets are just beginning to expand their produce offerings beyond spring onions, pea shoots, lettuce mix and seedlings for transplant.  The chickens on offer are growing from young spring chickens into broilers,  Meanwhile the dairy products--milk, butter, cheeses, yogurt--and local granola, maple syrup, honey, and jams are as plentiful as ever.  All the same, the challenge to eat locally is just beginning.  Eating within our foodshed was definitely more challenging this early in the season but not impossible.  We are ready for June.

Incredible Edibles

by Liz

No matter where in the country you live, local eggs are in abundance in May.  As a natural part of their cycle of fertility, chickens raised in small flocks without supplemental light will lay more eggs in the spring than in the dark of winter, making eggs a truly seasonal food.

Eggs are a relatively inexpensive item -- around here, local, organic ones go for about $3 a dozen, duck eggs slightly more.  I've heard of people in other states that will gladly pay $6 a dozen for high quality local eggs, the argument being that even at 50¢ per egg, it still makes for an economical meal.  I truly believe that the egg is one of nature's perfect foods, which is why my springtime meal planning revolves heavily around eggs in its various forms, one of which is the frittata.

Eating From the Pantry

by Liz

Here in northern New England, it's imperative to be prepared if you are at all committed to eating seasonally.  "Being prepared" means stocking the pantry with excess produce while it's in season -- either by freezing, canning, dehydrating or root cellaring.  Whether the produce is from your own garden or from a local farmer, it makes both economical and common sense  While I am just now starting to crave fresh green vegetables, I'm still doing most of my eating out of the pantry, and am thankful for it.

I have a vegetable garden because it's a great way to spend time outdoors, stay fit and clear my head.  Mostly, though, I garden because I love to eat high quality food, and I can easily grow $1000 worth of organic produce in a growing season.  Keeping a large garden also means that I must practice and hone my skills when it comes to putting this bounty up.

First Local Produce Arrives!

by Sarah Irani

This is my first post with the Eat Local Challenge group! Let me introduce myself: I live in Maryland, which is usually classified as the Mid-Atlantic, but I suppose that Northeast will suffice.  My husband and I were married only six months ago and are trying to establish healthy home habits at the outset. This is the first year for a garden together. We don't have a very large yard, so we are planting in containers and two small raised beds.

We have signed up with Summer Creek Farm's community supported agriculture (CSA) program, but won't be getting our food until June. We try to eat locally as much as possible, but it is so challenging in the long winter months. I have grown weary of potatoes, rutabagas and venison and my darling husband is allergic to carrots. Plus, we have completely run out of venison.