Countdown to the Eat Local Challenge

Three more days until the Eat Local Challenge.  Holy shit!  So, who’s with me?  I know Flood is.  Anyone else?

To recap for any newcomers, the goal of the challenge is to eat only food grown and/or produced in a 250-mile radius of our home for an entire month.  For me, that's all of New England, with preference given to Massachusetts.  The purpose is to enjoy regional flavors, support the local economy, and conserve fuel.  It’s the same thing the whole family did last September, which was featured on the CBS Evening News.

In addition to listing my sources in my posts, I will be making an effort to keep track of money this time to see if eating locally is really as elitist as it’s sometimes portrayed.  I don’t know if it comes through on this blog, but we’re not exactly rolling in dough.  Unless you count pie dough.  Also, I’m borrowing a free bike from a neighbor (thanks, Sarah!) so I can do most of my shopping by bicycle, thereby saving even more on gas.  I’m very, very curious to see how long I can keep that up. 

I will be claiming some exemptions from the 250-mile rule, but fewer than last year.  They are: coffee, yeast, spices, and cooking oil.  The last three lack a local source and are used in small enough quantities that I’m not sweating it.  Coffee, on the other hand, is drunk in LARGE quantities by Husband, but both of us will tell you that living without his sweet, sweet drug of choice is not an option.  He has his coffee, I have my farmer, and everybody’s happy.  Also, I reserve the right to buy stuff made by small, local businesses even if all the ingredients aren’t local because I value their craft (you know which place I’m talking about, but there may end up being more).

Last but not least, I’m going to try really hard not to make my ELC posts as boring as last year’s, but my family’s survival comes before your entertainment, just so you know.  I make no promises.

Comments

[adele]

Eat Local Challenge?

*checks fridge*

*sees enough snobby imported condiments to feed a horde of hipsters*

I might have to pass. Maybe next year?

[ntsc]

We try now.

Our pork comes, in six month lots, from a butcher within 250 miles. We will be doing a lot of beef with them as well. http://www.dietrichsmeats.com/

I do my own sausage, bacon and dry cured ham. (Ruhlman and Polcyn's Charcuterie is a great text.) My wife cooks, and I put up, tomato sauces and juice. We also do soups and put up vegetables and fruit.

Flours are a bit more of a problem, since NY is not a real wheat producer. That really is a mid-west product, but I do bread and my wife does pasta.

It isn't so much that we eat local, but rather that we don't use prepared foods.

[What A Card]

I liked your eat local posts last year...in fact, that was how I found your blog (granted, it was long past when the eat local challenge was done, but through the wonders of google, I found you anyway!)

We eat about as local as I'm willing to commit to at the moment, which is about 50%. Some meals closer to 100%, some meals a complete cheat (hot dogs, anyone?) It should be easier for me this winter than last, with all the local food I have in the freezer from this past summer.

Have fun, I'm looking forward to your posts!

[Alecto]

Oh. Sigh. Almost there. Well, OK, not really but maybe 80% now and by the time the farmers markets close we'll be closer to 65% unless we want to live on the six thousand quarts of tomatoes I put up.

[Gillian]

I'm giving the challenge a try, and even though I'm a big local food fanatic, I'm NERVOUS. What if I forget to claim an exemption? What if run out of my frozen local fruit? What if I succumb to the frozen pizza that sits in my freezer? THE STRESS OF IT MAY DO ME IN!!!

[claire]

what are your rules regarding eating out? only patronizing locavore places?

[ntsc]

With regard to hot dogs:

http://theyummymummy.blogspot.com/2008/04/hot-diggity-dog-challenge.html

[Tammy]

ntsc: We'll have to see how desperate I am for hot dogs to actually make them myself. This may be a case where laziness trumps desperation.

claire: Good question. We don't eat out all that much anymore due to budget constraints. However, I do have a birthday coming up and we plan to pick a place that actively buys from local farmers. Luckily, there are a lot to choose from. But in the event that I should need an emergency burrito from, say, Taqueria Mexicana, I think that would fall under the umbrella of "I value their craft."

Gillian: You can always do what I did last year, which was to claim exemptions as I went along. And make up justifications. You'll do fine. You put up local fruit, which is more than I've done. And if you have to cheat, big deal. You're still doing a great service to your local farmers.

Alecto: You're already there. No need to do more.

What A Card: Same for you. The goal is to find out what fits your lifestyle and what you can maintain. I think you do great already.

ntsc: Did you know that King Arthur gets some of its wheat from upstate NY? I asked. True, most of it's from the Midwest, but it's not your fault that they mix it all up. I say it counts.

Adele: Mmmmm, snobby imported products. I know where I'm going when I crack.

[Lily VS]

If you need a frosty cold local beverage, I highly recommend the Berkshire Brewing Company pale ale growler.

Tasty AND fun to drink. I think all beer should come in a growler.

[Tammy]

Lily VS: Funny, I just bought one yesterday. A porter, though. Great minds...

[andrea]

This is my favorite part of the year - watching you and your family do this challenge!

We'll actually be in Vietnam for the month so I suspect that we won't have a problem eating locally (or we totally failed the challenge of eating within 250 miles of our home, depending on how you look at it!) Will have to watch out for those yummy French imports. When we have internet access, I'll be sure to check in and see how it is going!

Good luck!

[katrina]

Your posts are never boring. Especially when you mention your farmer.

[Aaron Ouellette]

If you can't source it local, like coffee, the best you can do is source it fair trade, and roasted locally. Have you tried deans beans? They have some nice dark roasted stuff.
AO