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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.

A case for local eating this Thanksgiving

by Jen Maiser

"If 10,000 ... households spend their Thanksgiving meal dollars on local food, we'll invest about $381,000 into our own communities."

This fact came from the Ideal Bite newsletter this morning based on the American Farm Bureau's statistic that the average amount spent for a family Thanksgiving for 10 is $38.10 in the United States.

Interested in participating in the 100-mile Thanksgiving?  Go to the 100-Mile Diet website to learn more!

Jennifer Maiser is the editor of the Eat Local Challenge website.  She is often found behind a camera or writing for her site, Life Begins at 30.  Photo from her Flickr site.

100-Mile Thanksgiving

by Jennifer Maiser

Our friends Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon at the 100-mile diet website are hosting the second annual 100-mile Thanksgiving, challenging participants to plan a Thanksgiving meal using food products grown, raised or gathered from within 100 miles of their home.  Check out their website to sign up.  I will be participating to the best of my ability -- bringing dishes made from local products to my family's potluck Thanksgiving dinner.

Jennifer Maiser is the editor of the Eat Local Challenge website.  She is often found behind a camera or writing for her site, Life Begins at 30.