www.eatlocalchallenge.com

ELC Blog Highlight: Locavore on Core

Jessica of the Locavore on Core blog is not only challenging herself to the Eat Local Challenge, but she's doing it while on the Weight Watchers Core diet and on a budget.  From the little that I know of the Core Diet, it lends itself really well to a local foods emphasis with it's slant toward whole, unprocessed foods.  I love Jessica's postings about how satisfying good, whole foods can be:

I'm making conscious food choices not entirely based on the calorie count, but on the quality of the food, and I've found something surprising: I don't need a huge quantity if the food is high quality. A small amount of good, real cheese is so much more satisfying than a whole package of fat free cheese product.

If you have a minute to check out Jessica's blog and cheer her on, please do so!  She's working hard at all aspects of her food challenges.

ELC Blog Highlight: Livin' La Vida Local

Melanie of Livin' La Vida Local represents our San Diego blog contingent during this challenge.   Her entire blog is dedicated to food issues and the idea of eating locally-grown food, and it's becoming a terrific resource for San Diegans who are interested in eating local.  Read about her approach, and I think you'll agree that she's going about this in a balanced, positive way:

I don't boast of being an expert in what I am undertaking. This blog will chronicle what I learn, in hopes that by the end of the year I (and anybody who's listening in) will be more knowledgeable about living like a "localtarian."

This is not a vegetarian or vegan diet. I intend to eat meat, chicken, and seafood in addition to produce (but only if I can find them from local sources).

Read more about Melanie's journey at Livin' La Vida Local.

ELC Blog Highlight: Dirt to Dish

Katherine is blogging about her family's Eat Local Challenge on her blog Dirt to Dish.  Katherine has taken the challenge before, and I am so excited to read about her progress this time around because she has some additional goals in order to decrease her family's footprint on the earth.  Some of her goals: 

• Bring lunch to work.
• If we eat out, eat at locally-owned restaurants that use locally-grown ingredients.
• Stick to the average American food budget.
• Bike, walk, or train as often as possible.
• Buy (almost) nothing new.
• Tell friends about what we’re doing.

Read her entire list here.

ELC Blog Highlight: Maggie of My Room With a View

Maggie is participating in the Eat Local Challenge this month from her home in North Carolina.  Eating locally is already in practice in Maggie's home, and she has participated in One Local Summer and previous challenges.  She has set some admirable goals for her challenge this September:

I'm going to think about the challenge and approach it a little differently -looking for new local sources, writing about restaurants supporting local growers and farmers, and continuing to write about the garden. I'll also share a little bit of what we are doing to preserve our food and how we are continuing to grow as one season winds down and another begins.

Keep an eye on Maggie's progress on her blog My Room With a View.

Summer Freeze

by Expat Chef

This September, the Eat Local Challenge is offering a whole range of ways to participate in the ELC September Challenge. With so many ways to participate, we can all join in the experience.

One of the ways to participate this year is to leahrn how to preserve your locally grown food for winter. It’s easy enough to do for many foods. You don’t even have to buy special equipment or learn to can. You just need a bit of time and freezer space.

I decided to try this approach this year after watching a friend of mine struggle with the vegetable side dishes for a 100-mile diet Thanksgiving. There's not much around for fresh veggies in late November other than sweet potatoes. What I do not use on the Thanksgiving table can easily be added to the turkey leftovers for a Turkey and Vegetable Soup, perfect for those chilly late fall days.

How It All Adds Up

by Expat Chef

One of the things I have loved about the Eat Local Challenge (ELC) is that the more I participate, the easier and better it becomes. It's sustainable, too, as we can each define it and build it to fit the local environment in which we live. Best of all, is what ELC has brought to my life.

I found myself sitting at a lunch dedicated to local foods last week. The event was a stop on the Sustainable Table's Eat Well Guided Tour. The tables were filled with local foodies, activists, and farmers, some of whom produced the very food on our plates. I felt such great joy as we went around the room and each of us, not just our guests, shared our vision and experience of eating local. My heart swelled as I saw the actualization of our shared vision. Living proof that sustainable food systems work and are healthy for all who participate. Were it not for Jen Maiser and ELC, I would not have had this rich and wonderful experience.

The September 2007 Eat Local Challenge: Many ways to participate

by the Editors

For the third year in a row, the Eat Local Challenge website, in association with the Locavores, is hosting a month-long Eat Local Challenge.  This year, the challenge is in September with an emphasis on canning and preserving the bounty of September for the winter months. 

During this time, nationwide participants focus on what foods are available in our local foodshed and how we can support our local farmers.  This year, we have received many inquiries on the ways that supporters of the Eat Local Challenge can participate.  While the original challenge premise involves eating as much food from your local foodshed as possible during the month, there are many ways that you can participate.

Here are just a few:

1)  Commit to eating local for 30 days in September.  To do this, define what "local" means to you --  be it a 100-mile radius or your entire state or region.  Then designate any exceptions, define any extra goals you have during the month, and sign up on the Locavores website so that you can be counted.

2)  Write about your experience with eating locally on your blog.  What's it like in your area?  Which parts of eating locally are easy, and which are difficult?  What advice do you have for others? If you are participating, email us and tell us what state you live in.  Then tag all posts with the term "EatLocalChallenge" so that we can find your posts.  Want to show your support?  Add an Eat Local Challenge logo to your site!

3)  Take photos of local food, local farmers' markets and local farmers and post them to our Flickr group.

4)  Make one local meal a week in September.  Liz from Pocket Farm heads up the One Local Summer project which asks people to eat a local meal each week during the summer.  You can participate in a modified One Local Summer by committing to preparing one local meal for your family weekly through September.  Let us know how you do!

5)  Submit original content about your eat local experience to the Eat Local Challenge blog to be posted during September.  Email us your content or blog thoughts.  All posts will be subject to our Creative Commons license.

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!

Save the Date: September 2007 Challenge

by the editors

As you are ringing in the new year of 2007, please take a moment to mark your calendars for the September 2007 Eat Local Challenge.  In association with the Locavores, this site will sponsor an international month-long event in which over 1000 participants will challenge themselves to eat within a pre-determined radius of their home.  Because this challenge will be occurring during the harvest season in most locations, there will be a particular emphasis on canning, preserving, and learning to put food up for the winter.

If you are interested in participating in this challenge, please sign up for email updates on the Locavores site or check back on this site for updates in the next few months.  You can also sign up to receive an email whenever a post is written on this site by finding the "get email updates" section on this page in the right-hand column.

Why do we choose to eat local?  Read our 10 Reasons to Eat Local.

Interested in eating local and need some tips?  Read our tips for the Eat Local Challenge.

If you would like to read about challenges that we have participated in, please refer to the list below.

August 2005 Eat Local Challenge
May 2006 Eat Local Challenge
2006 One Local Summer Challenge
2006 100-Mile Thanksgiving Challenge

We look forward to your joining us in September 2007!