Eat Local Challenge Goals - Update

I posted my personal goals for the May 2006 Eat Local Challenge a few weeks ago. Now that I've had a little more time to mull these over, I've tweaked and refined them.

Goal: To eat food produced within 100 miles as much as possible, then extend the range to food raised, produced, or caught in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Virginia.

Exemptions: salt, pepper, spices, tamari, flour*, pasta*, rice, olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider and balsamic vinegars, tahini, sugar, other baking necessities, Parmesano-Reggiano, coffee, tea.

Challenge: I'm used to eating out for lunch in the neighborhood, and I don't think that anyone serves local food. My addiction to Pepsi One, which I'll try to kick in May. My new craving for olives. I'll miss salmon and bacon. Local regulations will not allow pork producers to cure meat without nitrates.

Help needed in finding: Grains of all kinds, pasta. If I can find local sources for flour, pasta, and Carolina grown rice, I'll take them off the exemption list in an update.

Tips offered: The Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market sells locally grown chicken, beef, pork, dried beans, mushrooms, milk, butter, goat cheese, and eggs, in addition to seasonal fruits and vegetables. Chicken will be available from Back Woods Family Farm again in May. The corn for the grits and cornmeal from the Old Mill at Guilford is grown in Yanceyville. Donna sells their products at the Curb Market. The Piedmont Triad Farmers Market also sells sustainably raised lamb, and ostrich. Deep Roots Market carries some local products, including some fruits and vegetables, beef and dairy products.

NOTES:

I'll buy my fair-trade organic coffee from Tate Street Coffee House, which is a short walk away, and sorry, but I have to have sugar in my coffee.

I'll keep a pitcher of iced tea in the refrigerator to try to kick my diet soda habit. I can't go without caffeine - my migraines are enough of a problem in the spring. The problem here will be my husband drinking it all. He loves sweet tea. I'll flavor it with mint from my garden.

I'll buy my bread from Simple Kneads, a wonderful organic bakery in downtown Greensboro, or from nearby Spring Garden Bakery, or pita from Dough Re Mi at the Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market. Or bake it.

I am mulling over making my own pasta for the first time. After all, I have to justify buying this noodle-cutter at the Liberty Antiques Festival yesterday! Note that I bought a "new" baking pan that begs for lasagne as well. I think I found a source for semolina flour from Virginia. I'll post more if I decide to do it - it looks like the fates have decreed this. Now let's see if I have the time and energy.

I plan to eat a lot of salad, which is not really one of my favorite foods. The way I have decided to make this fun and challenging is that I will make my own salad dressings and marinades. I've been addicted to Annie's dressings for years, but there's no reason I couldn't make my own from scratch. I've added a lot of the base ingredients for salad dressings and marinades to the exemption list, to which I plan to add herbs from my garden and other ingredients that I find at the farmers' market.

Eat Local Challenge Goals

The Eat Local Challenge is scheduled for May, 2006.

Goal: To eat food produced within 100 miles as much as possible, then extend the range to food raised, produced, or caught in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Virginia.

Exemptions: salt, pepper, flour, pasta, rice, olive oil, lemon juice, coffee, sugar. I'll buy my fair-trade organic coffee from Tate Street Coffee House, and sorry, but I have to have sugar in my coffee. I'll buy my bread from Simple Kneads, a wonderful organic bakery in downtown Greensboro, or from nearby Spring Garden Bakery.

Challenge: Seafood. Cheddar cheese. My addiction to Pepsi One, which I'll try to kick in May. My new craving for olives.

Help needed in finding: Grains of all kinds, pasta. Donna Myers of Epicourier is researching flour for me. If I can find local sources for flour, pasta, and Carolina grown rice, I'll take them off the exemption list in an update.

Tips offered: The Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market sells locally grown chicken, beef, pork, milk, butter, goat cheese, and eggs. Chicken will be available from Back Woods Family Farm again in May. The corn for the grits and cornmeal from the Old Mill at Guilford is grown in Yanceyville. Donna sells their products at the Curb Market. The Piedmont Triad Farmers Market also sells sustainably raised lamb, and ostrich.

I've decided to archive the posts about my Eat Local Challenge in my project blog: Food with a Face.

Eat Local Challenge is Coming Soon!

Through several of the blogs on my new "Local Motive" blog roll, I learned of the Eat Local Challenge. Last August, a group from the San Francisco Bay area called themselves the Locavores and issued this challenge to whoever chose to take it up: For one month, set a goal to eat within a 100 mile radius of your home. This year, the challenge month is May, and I have decided to take up the challenge and share my progress on this blog. You're welcome to join the Eat Local Challenge too!

Realizing that not everybody lives in a Slow Food heaven such as the Bay area, you are encouraged to set your own goals and guidelines. I entered mine into their database without much thought, and it was published, so if you sign up, you might want to consider your options first. Read through what other people are planning to do. There is a wide range of plans, from folks planning to eat 100% locally, to one who plans to eat only from her state and the states bordering her state, to those who plan to eat one entire meal a week locally.

Here is an excellent set of guidelines for eating well from their website that makes sense for all months of the year.

Guidelines for Eating Well

If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic. This is one of the most readily available alternatives in the market and making this choice protects the environment and your body from harsh chemicals and hormones.

If not ORGANIC, then Family farm. When faced with Kraft or Cabot cheeses, Cabot, a dairy co-op in Vermont, is the better choice. Supporting family farms helps to keep food processing decisions out of the hands of corporate conglomeration.

If not FAMILY FARM, then Local business. Basics like coffee and bread make buying local difficult. Try a local coffee shop or bakery to keep your food dollar close to home.

If not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then Terroir, which means 'taste of the Earth'. Purchase foods famous for the region they are grown in and support the agriculture that produces your favorite non-local foods such as Brie cheese from Brie, France or parmesan cheese from Parma, Italy.

Hit the farmers' market before the supermarket. Plan your meal around local ingredients you find at the market.

Branch out. Maybe your usual food repertoire could use some fresh ideas. The farmers' market provides a perfect chance to try a new ingredient when it's in season, and lets you talk to its grower to find out the best way to prepare your new food. Flirt with your food producer!

Feed the freezer. Can't cook every night? Worried about your fresh produce going bad? It's easy. Make lasagna with local tomatoes or a soup packed with fresh veggies and freeze it! You can also make personal size meals for a brown bag lunch.

I've been blogging in my head (once called "thinking") about this ever since I found out about the Eat Local Challenge last year, especially during the last three days as I've been gearing up my plans for May. I am the only one so far that has signed up from North Carolina, so I challenge my fellow Tarheels to join me and let's share our sources!

I plan to re-write my goals and exemptions this weekend and post them. It should be a stormy day tomorrow - a perfect day to stay inside and write unless the power goes out! Then I guess I'd have to revert to a curious relic called an "pen" that uses "ink."