July's Challenge: Eat Locally!

This month at BlogHers ACT Canada, we’re challenging you, our fine readers, to eat locally.

What exactly does this mean?

For some, eating locally means stepping out the back door, heading to the vegetable patch in the yard and harvesting some homegrown lettuce greens for dinner.

For others, it means taking a weekly trip to the farmer’s market to select some regionally-grown produce sold by nearby farmers and baked goods prepared in nearby kitchens.

For other folks, eating locally means paying attention to the labels on the food they purchase at the grocery store in an attempt to bring home only food that was grown or produced in their own province, state or country.

This month, we’ll be looking at all of these ways of eating locally.  I have to admit I’m a little bit biased when it comes to this issue.  As a back yard and community gardener, I love to grow my own food.  I love to know that when I pull that head of garlic from the ground, I know exactly where it’s been, that no chemicals have been sprayed on it, that my own loving care and attention are being rewarded with this fresh food that I can take into my kitchen and cook.  Not everyone has a green thumb, though, or has the space or time to grow food, but some of the options mentioned above are great alternatives to vegetable gardening.

In addition to the benefits of finding and eating organic vegetables, fruit and herbs, there are many other advantages for eating locally, including, just for starters:

 

• Buying locally means you’re supporting the local economy of your community.
• Food that is purchased locally has not been trucked in from any great distance, which means less fuel has been consumed, less carbon thrown into the air.
• The availability of locally-grown food changes with the seasons, so the opportunity to stay in touch with the changing seasons is ever present.
• Because the food has a shorter distance to travel, it is much, much more fresh.

It’s our hope that you will continue to check back with us for the month of July, and open your mind to exploring the possibilities of eating locally.

Comments

[MapsGirl]

When I saw this website, I immediately thought of this challenge.

"Fortino's Grown Close to Home"

http://www.fortinos.ca/field_fresh.aspx?WT.ac=+%2D+CA+%2D+GCTH+%2D+field+fresh+best+value