Third annual Eat Local Challenge for September!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Jackie and I have stepped up to the September Eat Local Challenge - will you?
More details have emerged about what committing to the challenge actually means. The good news is that there really isn’t a concrete set of rules - you can participate in whatever way makes the most sense to you. For the Farm to Philly challenge-within-a-challenge, though, let’s have our own set of guidelines!
- Eat one meal per week during the month of September that is made using locally grown ingredients. Non-local oil and spices are allowed.
- Can, freeze, dry, or otherwise preserve two things during the month.
- Utilize one new resource for locally grown food during September - that could be a new restaurant, farmer’s market, etc.
Great!! Woohoo!!!
I’m really excited by your challenge. I shop at the Rittenhouse Sq. (Walnut St) farmers’markets on Tuesday a.m. and Saturday. At least 3 nights a week our meals come primarily from that source, if not completely (except olive oil). I read OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA and ANIMAL,VEGETABLE,MIRACLE and am excited by the Locovore concept. I always discuss with anyone who will listen when I’m at the farmers’ markets how eating this way reduces our carbon footprint as well as getting more flavor, etc.
Thanks for your blog.Also, interesting article in this week’s NEW YORKER magazine about seed banks.
Ooo, thanks Wendy! I was just thinking about what to plant for next year’s garden!
I have yet to get to the Rittenhouse market, but hear the produce is outstanding. Will you be officially joining us for the September challenge?
Hm. I have to confess that I’ve shied away from the Eat Local Challenge(s), even though I’ve known about them for several months. I’m not sure why I’m reluctant to officially sign up for the challenge, except that perhaps I don’t like turning one of my passions into a to-do list that feels like homework. But I read the Sept. 2007 challenge page that you linked to, Nicole, and I think the way I participate in the challenge is close to #13—“Start simple and small by replacing one food item a week.” Instead of aiming for one meal/week from all-local ingredients, I just aim to buy as much as I can from local producers, adding stuff (e.g., local granola or pasta or whatever) as I find it. I have the time and (sometimes) money to spend on shopping locally.
Canning/freezing food from the summer, for the winter months, sounds like a wonderful idea. But for me—and maybe for others who live in city apartments?—the problem is logistics. Canning is time-consuming and space-consuming, and I have a tiny kitchen. (Also, I think I’d need to buy another freezer, if I wanted to freeze fruit. My freezer is already full of vegetable stock!) You’ve mentioned a Farm to Philly get-together. The scheduling problems might be too overwhelming for this to be feasible, but what about some sort of canning/preserving afternoon during which we can pool resources?
Er, long comment, sorry.
I think for a lot of us, having a blueprint is a good idea. I like the challenge of things, even though I eat more things locally grown than not locally grown these days. As you demonstrate, not everyone is motivated by the same things.
What a great idea to have a canning day at someone’s house! We just need to find someone with a large kitchen.
I’m in, for probably the first two of those. Or some combination thereof. And I need to talk to you about that canning soup thing.
I have a decent sized kitchen that could accommodate a little canning party. If you’re all still interested we could pick a day/time.
Thanks Jackie!!!!!! How cool of you to offer!
As soon as our forums get up and running, I’ll post about it there and maybe we can work out a date.
Canning party!! (Should be said with the same excitement as, ‘Road trip!’)
Thanks for offering, Jackie. 
This is a great idea, and much more realistic than the “eat only local food EVER!” challenge that was featured in the New York Times a while back. I think I’m already doing all of this for my blog… count me in!