This week I will buy and prepare three entirely local meals and will in general try to eat as locally as possible. Shopping locally is more ecologically sound because it helps conserve energy used in shipping and also supports the local economy (and now it's especially important to support local farmers affected by this year's floods!)
Did you know that most of the produce sold in the US travels an average of 1500 miles to the supermarket? It's no wonder the price of food has skyrocketed with the cost of oil recently - it takes a lot of fuel to transport anything that far, and undoubtedly lots of chemical treatments are required to keep everything fresh that long. Ick.
Of course doing the challenge this week is practically cheating - there is a farmer's market in the Iowa City area every day in the summer, and right now all of these mouth-watering fruits and veggies are in their prime. Meats, dairy, and bread can also be obtained locally - bakeries, butchers, co-ops and farmer's markets are the best sources for these. However, you don't necessarily need to have a health food store or farmer's market in your area to eat locally - even supermarkets carry local items if you specifically look for them (Hy-Vee shoppers, check out the local dairy products in the Health Market section - yummiest milk ever!). The official definition of "local" is actually anything sourced from within 250 miles. This is the distance that a farmer can comfortably drive to and from the market in one day. Certain restaurants are another good source for fresh local food. Check out the Local Harvest website for restaurants serving local fare, farmer's markets, CSA's, and co-ops in your area. Also, for those in Iowa, here is the New Pioneer Co-op's local supplier list.
It goes without saying that probably the best local food you can get your hands on is the stuff you grow yourself! We won't have any more significant garden harvests for a few more weeks, but our lettuce and herb harvest is ongoing. Yesterday I brought in a huge basket of basil, which I then turned into homemade pesto. We've been munching on it ever since and by now we smell pretty garlicky (so if you are planning to drop by soon, might want to wait a couple of days).
See the update for Crunchy Challenge No. 2: Let it all hang out...to dry here.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
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4 comments:
I love the Iowa City farmer's market near the rec center! I also just wanted to say that I'm loving reading all about your challenges! Keep it up! :)
This was definitely the most challenging challenge so far, even with all of the local resources we have available - mostly because it required going to the market once every few days, and we are used to buying a lot once a week or so at the grocery store. Also, I got excited and cooked a LOT of each dish, so we ended up eating the leftovers for days. A more realistic goal would be 1 local meal per week with a couple days to eat leftovers and then a few days to eat whatever else needs using up in the fridge.
Our meals turned out to be mostly but not entirely local, but I was happy with the results. They were:
1) A casserole of fresh local golden beets, potatoes, and sweet potatoes with fresh garden herbs and with non-local chicken (was already bought and needed to be used up!) and local sour cream from Kalona (plus homemade bread with homemade pesto plus salad from the garden).
2) Borscht from local red beets, potatoes, and non-local cabbage and beans plus the chicken stock leftover from cooking the chicken for the first meal, topped with lots of herbs from the garden, local sour cream, and home-sprouted sunflower seed sprouts (and the bread and pesto and salad...you get the idea)
3)Yesterday we still had so many leftovers from all this, we had another meal of borscht, bread, pesto, salad, and our fried green tomatoes.
4) I still have ingredients that I bought at the farmer's market for a third meal that I'll make today of local whole wheat pasta and summer squash with a homemade alfredo sauce.
I was unable to arrange my meal scheduled this week, but am planning some fresh, local meals this week.
Yay! Would love to hear what you come up with, Amanda!
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