Here is a list of suggestions for finding locally-grown (and known) food and for supporting local farmers:
1. Identify local farmers. The key here is to begin a relationship with those who grow and raise food just a short distance from your home.
2. Ask your local farmers if they have a CSA, a farm store, a roadside stand, and/or if they participate in a farmers market.
3. Search your local newspapers and other news sources for farmers markets’ openings.
4. Check to see if there are food co-ops in your town. (Co-ops are beginning to expand their offerings and lower their prices in order to stay competitive.)
5. Shop different stores and patronize different restaurants particularly those that have a Buy Fresh/Buy Local decal or some similar sign.
6. Ask store managers where they get their meats, eggs, milk, cheese, produce, etc.
7. Read labels not only for ingredients but for point of origin. (You may want to learn all about Michael Pollan’s food rules which include not buying anything with more than 5 ingredients in it.)
8. You really do want to find out what is in that Twinkie you are tempted to buy.
9. Start a Slow Food convivium or just get together with friends to prepare meals together made from locally-grown and produced food.
10. Start a food garden even if all it is is a single plant in a container on a deck or patio.
Posted on March 30th, 2007 in
Local food | Author:
jimtolbert |
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Over the past couple of days I’ve seen some stories that really tout buying local and preserving local farms. I expect to see more such stories as the farmers market season really gets underway during the next few weeks.
Zach Subar says Buying local is the way to go:
“Not only is local food more wholesome, but buying it directly from farmers also helps to create a bond between buyer and seller among those who frequent the market . . . The more often we buy this way, the more money farmers will make, and the less likely they will be to sell their land to developers. This issue is about more than your daily eating habits. Act on it.”
Alex Frazier wants to preserve farmland:
“Should anyone care about the loss of farmland? Of course. Besides the obvious aesthetic loss of open space and the beauty of the land, scarred by cookie-cutter housing developments, local farms produce commodities we all need. With the growing problem of climate warming, it is even more imperative that we buy our food locally to avoid trucking it great distances across country or even shipping it internationally. If people bought their spinach [locally-grown], there would have been no worry about salmonella poisoning that recently cleared the product from all the supermarkets nationwide. Food produced locally is more nutritious . . . Food is just one good reason farms should be preserved. Others include: Farms keep property taxes low, they improve wildlife habitats, they help the U.S. balance of trade, they help the local economy, and they help re-supply aquifers to ensure water supplies.”
Finally, if you live in the Pacific Northwest, here’s a good site for you to find local farmers and farmer markets: Rural Roots.org.
Posted on March 28th, 2007 in
Local food | Author:
jimtolbert |
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There’s a blogger who talks about weaving yarn. (She probably weaves a few good tales as well.) Her post yesterday touted eating locally. It’s worth a read. Follow her links.
Posted on March 27th, 2007 in
Local food | Author:
jimtolbert |
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Slow food is about taking time to prepare and eat food, preserving food traditions, preserving native/local varieties of produce and meat, and enjoying the company, the community, of others.
If you are into local food, you are into slow food as many are now discovering in Central Florida.
Start watching your newspapers for announcements of farmers markets opening again. Stories such as this one out of Iowa will begin appearing from coast to coast.
Posted on March 26th, 2007 in
Local food | Author:
jimtolbert |
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A great resource for your local food gathering is Slow Food USA. Part of an international movement, Slow Food USA is dedicated to preserving and promoting native regional foods and the culture of enjoying them convivially:
“Slow Food U.S.A. is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to supporting and celebrating the food traditions of North America. From the spice of Cajun cooking to the purity of the organic movement; from animal breeds and heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables to handcrafted wine and beer, farmhouse cheeses and other artisanal products; these foods are a part of our cultural identity.”
There may be a local group (convivium) near you. Check out RAFT - Renewing America’s Food Traditions Project. Their publications are definitely something to check out.
Find out what food region you belong in using this Slow Food/RAFT map.
Posted on March 22nd, 2007 in
Local food | Author:
jimtolbert |
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There may come a time very soon when you can see a certificate on your food that will tell you that the food was raised locally by a family farmer using humane and environmental practices. This certification would be very much like the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) seal which certifies the safety of many consumer items from lightbulbs to step ladders.
The certification will come from the Association of Family Farms. The seal will connote “family farm and ranch origin and high quality production practices, particularly concerning sustainability.”
According to Alan Mammoser in the New Rules of Food:
“For AFF to work, it needs solid rules and agreed-upon standards by which to judge whether a food item deserves the seal. The group is drawing upon the Portland-based Food Alliance, whose certification programs support sustainable agriculture. Their standards are comprehensive and touch on every aspect of the farm economy and call upon farmers and ranchers for the following:
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Provide safe and fair conditions for workers
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Ensure healthy and humane care for livestock
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Avoid use of hormones or related antibiotics
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Avoid genetically modified crops or livestock
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Reduce their use of pesticides and other toxins
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Actively conserve soil and water resources
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Protect wildlife habitat Plan for continuous improvement”
Until the certification is launched, get to know your local growers - farmers, beekeepers, vineyards, dairies, ranchers, etc. Be sure that their values are your values.
Posted on March 21st, 2007 in
Local food | Author:
jimtolbert |
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Ever wonder where your food comes from? Sometimes the little labels on fruits or vegetables in the supermarket tell you that the papaya comes from Mexico or the blueberries come from Chile or the apples are from Washington state. However, unless your grocer labels some foods as locally grown, you really don’t know. I’ve only ever seen one supermarket chain (now bankrupt) that actually put out signs to tell you that the onions came from “Farmer Jones” just down the road.
If you want to know, you have to ask or buy directly from a local farmer at a farmers market, a CSA or a road stand. Actually, asking your produce and meat managers where the veggies or filets come from is a good idea. It let’s them know that you want local.
A good source for finding out more about locally grown food and helping to promote it in your community is Food Routes.org. This is a site to mine. Get on their emailing list as well.
Along with discovering Food Routes, go out and plant an herb in your garden or in a container on your deck today. Afterall the Vernal Equinox occurs today at 8:07 EDT and taking action is a great way to celebrate the beginning of Spring.
Posted on March 20th, 2007 in
Local food | Author:
jimtolbert |
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Anne Robin gives some encouraging words for raising your own food even in the toughest of situations. Her Veggie Gardening in the High Country is well worth the read.
You might also want to check out EarthBox, a container box system modeled after commercial farming that makes growing your own veggies easy.
Posted on March 19th, 2007 in
Local food | Author:
jimtolbert |
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Here’s a great resource for container gardening: Container Gardening Tips, a new web site that will help you grow those veggies and berries on the patio, on a sundeck, or just about anywhere.
The press release for Container Gardening Tips says: “The new site is the brainchild of Amy Stevens, a long-time fan of container gardening. Amy has been gardening in containers for around two decades! Her experience and love for container gardening shine through in this website, and in its companion blog.”
Posted on March 16th, 2007 in
Local food | Author:
jimtolbert |
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Ken Hargesheimer of Trees for the Future emailed this suggestion yesterday: “As now is the ideal planting time for much of the US, consider planting fruit trees in your backyard and find your local farmers market.” (”Trees For The Future is an organization that has been the steward of planting trees throughout the world since the early 1970’s.”)
Part of your eating locally grown and known food is to raise some things yourself if you have the time and the space available. It doesn’t even have to be a huge garden. There are tomato plants that can be planted in a large pot on the sundeck or in the patio.
Growing fruit, nuts or legumes really sounds yummy. Try to find something that is indigenous to your area and/or can grow well whatever the local climate may be. You can get help from your County Extension Agent. (Just google the name of your county and state + extension agent or cooperative extension agent or agriculture extension agent. You can also do the old-fashion thing of looking up the county office in your phone book. I’ve never known a County Extension agent who didn’t jump at the opportunity to help someone who has gardening questions. Get to know these folks. Ken also said that anyone can contact the Trees for the Future staff and ask them for some recommendations.
Finally, as you plan your garden and select some food trees, Joel M. Lerner of Oregon’s Mail Tribune has these 10 suggestions for gardening sustainably.
Posted on March 15th, 2007 in
Local food | Author:
jimtolbert |
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