Exploring the perimeter

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Having participated in One Local Summer and other challenges, where the perimeter definition of ‘local’ is 100 miles, and being a frequent visitor of the 100 Mile Diet site, I naturally consider my own local eating perimeter at 100 miles.  I’m not sure what other contributors to FTP consider local [feel free to jump in here, guys].  But the 100 mile perimeter surrounding Philadelphia is what makes eating locally grown food so easy here.

Directly to the West, we have Lancaster County and all of the awesome farms out that way, not to mention the various Amish products.  Directly to the East is New Jersey.  Make all the jokes you want about Jersey, but the Summer produce is killer and it’s practically the cranberry capital of the States.  And let’s not forget the seafood.  We have access to scallops, monkfish, tuna, ocean quahogs and surf clams, fluke, crabs, squid, lobster, mackerel, and a host of other things.  Then there’s Kennett Square out in the PA burbs, which supplies 51% of the nation’s mushrooms.

I often forget, though, that just about all of Delaware and part of Maryland fall within the perimeter.  It’s exciting to think of all the Delaware and Maryland products that I just haven’t discovered yet.  I’m excited to say that Rachel, a Baltimore resident, has offered to clue us all in on all good, local things in the Baltimore area every now and then.  Hooray!

By no means do I insist on eating locally grown food every day at every meal.  I don’t berate people for eating pineapples or lemons.  But for myself, it feels like a challenge to eat locally grown foods as often as possible.  And it makes me happy knowing that I’m supporting local farmers.  And there’s that whole issue of trusting your food sources.  It’s great to live in a place with such a wide variety of choices.