{31 Days} Back to Basics Day 2
This month I am participating in the nester’s {31 Days} challenge. My topic for the month is Back to Basics. If you would like to follow along, you can find all of my posts here.
I started thinking about local food way back in the spring
of 2007. My husband and I were finally
moving into the house we bought at the end of 2006, and I was determined to
have a garden. My mom had a garden when
I was growing up, and I always thought that I would have a big garden like
her. Of course, that first summer, we
did not have time to get the yard prepared for a garden, so instead we used
containers, and it was a great year – sometimes I think it was my best
gardening year ever!
That summer I found a local blogger that had started a
challenge called “One Local Summer.” Essentially
it was to make one meal each week from all local ingredients. It was at that moment that I started to
wonder what exactly “local eating” was.
challenge called “One Local Summer.” Essentially
it was to make one meal each week from all local ingredients. It was at that moment that I started to
wonder what exactly “local eating” was.
Do you know that the ingredients from your dinner travel an average of
1500 miles from farm to plate?
1500 miles from farm to plate?
When I first heard that statistic it made me stop dead in my
tracks. Why? Well because I live in Maine, and most of the
food that I see in the grocery store comes from California, and that is a bit
more than 1500 miles, about twice as far actually.
tracks. Why? Well because I live in Maine, and most of the
food that I see in the grocery store comes from California, and that is a bit
more than 1500 miles, about twice as far actually.
I started to do a lot of research into what exactly local
food was. What I found out was that it
varies…a lot. There are some people that
treat 100 miles as their local food shed.
There are others that take into account their entire state. Once I started digging into resources, I
found out that Maine has a large local food movement. You would not think so considering our short
growing season, but surprisingly we can grow a lot of different foods!
food was. What I found out was that it
varies…a lot. There are some people that
treat 100 miles as their local food shed.
There are others that take into account their entire state. Once I started digging into resources, I
found out that Maine has a large local food movement. You would not think so considering our short
growing season, but surprisingly we can grow a lot of different foods!
I was on my way, and haven’t stopped since! Each year I find more sources of delicious food
in this great state of mine, and I am thankful that I have so much available to
me. As the seasons change, I also find
myself being drawn to the different “in season” vegetables. Come fall, the root veggies are all the rage
in my home. But, once spring is here,
all we want is lettuce and spring salads.
Summer is the season of abundance, and winter means all the stored
veggies that we put up in the summer and fall, and it is also when we start to
rely on meat a bit more in our home.
in this great state of mine, and I am thankful that I have so much available to
me. As the seasons change, I also find
myself being drawn to the different “in season” vegetables. Come fall, the root veggies are all the rage
in my home. But, once spring is here,
all we want is lettuce and spring salads.
Summer is the season of abundance, and winter means all the stored
veggies that we put up in the summer and fall, and it is also when we start to
rely on meat a bit more in our home.
What does local food
mean to you? Have you thought recently about where your food comes from?
mean to you? Have you thought recently about where your food comes from?
I hadn't actually connected the two, but you are right. When you eat seasonally, you just seem to happen to crave the produce that is in season at the moment. Right now, we are all about carrots and potatoes, which is strange because we don't usually eat a lot of potatoes. Last month, it was green beans almost daily…because that's what we wanted. I think part of it too is that once you taste a local in season tomato, or strawberry, or whatever, you just don't even WANT one that was picked before it was ripe and shipped across the country (or continent, as the case may be). There doesn't seem much point in eating for the sake of eating if the flavour isn't there.
I have just joined eating seasonally and am loving it!
We eat seasonally as well, we seem to crave those foods more – isn't that something! Great post!