Your Stories
So you're having a crack at the 100-Mile Diet. Tell us about your first meal. What local foods did you discover? Where did you find them? And what did you have to do without?
Ontario’s Horticultural Convention will provide 100-Mile Meals
by Valerie Neal
The Ontario Horticultural Association is having its provincial convention in Owen Sound this August. We are planning to make all our meals 100 mile meals. I thought it would be difficult but things are coming together very well. The caterers have been keen to be part of this plan too.We hope to have 500 delegates.
Pop Up Markets in Victoria, BC
By Tessa Helweg-Larsen
I think it’s important for local food to be available to people, within the cities that they live in. Many people will buy local food if it is available close to their home, but will not put as much time to drive out and visit the farm stands. In Victoria BC there’s an organization called FoodRoots (through LifeCycles Project Society) that sets up very small local fruit and vegetable markets called “Pop Up Markets” at senoir’s centers, community centers, daycares, etc…. to make local food available to the city residents.
I am about to become a vegetable landscaper - I wish to start vegetable gardens for people in their front and back yards. It’s not only important to eat local food, but it’s just as important to make local food easily accessible to our communities.
Organic vs. Local in Central Illinois
By Patt Mitchell
I just read the 13 farmers market tips — I love #10! We are a small farming operation in central Illinois and we sell our produce locally. We are not certified organic and do use some chemicals on some plants (just the sweet corn and melons, really).Sometimes it feels like we are second class when customers compare us to organic producers. What really matters is that the produce is fresh and seasonal and the selection of the fruit or vegetable that is grown.Often times, people overlook that.I urged our farmers market director last year to challenge people to eat locally with items bought from our local markets.The 100 mile diet is what I dreamed the eating local challege would become.Our season starts soon, so I will be encouraging our customers to check you out!
Fabulous Wines in BC
by Susan McCalla
We live in Vancouver and find eating locally a wonderful experience. Recently, I started to buy only BC wines - luckily, there are fabulous ones to choose from. A couple of years ago we lived in Madison Wisconsin, which has the most amazing farmer’s market. It kept us shopping locally for almost the entire year - cheers to Madison!
Astounding Results in Westchester
by Eliza Mutino
I have some great results to share!Last May I started a strict 100 mile diet in Westchester just outside of New York City.I had a wonderful time and lots of help from extensive organizing by the farmers markets - one of which was right on my high school campus!
After four months on the diet I had blood tests and compared them to those taken the day before I went on the diet. The results were astounding!I lost 17.3 lbs (which was still in a healthy range!) and had a 40 point drop in cholesterol (from an already low 149).I discussed these results with nutritionists and we attributed the loss of weight to the fact that the foods I ate on the 100 mile diet were less processed, therefore had less bulk, thus my appetite was satisfied with fewer calories. Read the full story »
Pig Out in Chicago
By Chris Birky
VALPARAISO, IN–We are a small family farm in northwest Indiana. We raise our own pork products and sell them in a country store. We feed no antibiotics, steroids, hormones, animal by-products or Paylean*. Birky Farms is only 50 miles from Chicago and close to 100 miles from Indy. This is a great idea.
*Alisa says: Another good reason to know your farmer! I had never heard of Paylean until now. Turns out the active ingredient is Ractopamine hydrochloride, and here’s what the manufacturer says about it in the fine print: “May increase the number of injured and/or fatigued pigs during marketing.” And on the human side: “Individuals with cardiovascular disease should avoid exposure. Not for use in humans. Keep out of the reach of children. . . . When mixing and handling Paylean, use protective clothing, impervious gloves, protective eyewear, and a NIOSH-approved dust mask.”
Back to basics in Sweden
By Peter Lundberg
GOTEBERG, SWEDEN–I grew up during wartime (World War II) but in a country that stayed out of it. However, we had food restrictions, fuel restrictions and coupons for most items. My luck was being born and raised in the countryside. My diet was not the 100-mile one but rather the 1/4-mile diet. We grew vegetables, we had rabbits, hens, sheep and fresh milk from the neighboring farmer. In the summer, there were berries, some grown but mostly wild. In the fall, there were mushrooms. And yes, the little lake gave us fish and crayfish. My grandfather made his own wine, my grandmother occasionally made cheese. And of course there were some fruit trees: apples, cherry, pear, plum.
Wild foods the next level in California
TOPANGA, CA–Sunny Johnson, wild foods guru, has launched a forager website that helps take local eating to the next level. In phase one, see recipes for California sagebrush tea, wild buckwheat pancakes, and cowgirl face cream. This lady is serious about local eating–not only did she do a one-year challenge in Minnesota, she still churns her own butter.
School chef brings farms to kids in Connecticut
BLOOMFIELD, CONNECTICUT–Timothy Cipriano calls himself the “local food dude.” Luckily for the parents of Bloomfield, Connecticut, he is also the food service director (aka Chef Tim) of all the town’s public schools. He has gotten kids to eat their root vegetables–and like it. He has published a book of child-friendly recipes, a favorite being what he calls “squapple crisp.”
Chef Tim succeeded in serving beets, kohlrabi, parsnips, turnips, onions and winter squash to the students by slow roasting them to bring out the sweetness and splashing on balsamic vinegar as they came out of the oven.
Chef Tim also partnered with Michael Buchanan , a local Jamaican immigrant Farmer to grow calaloo (a leafy green) for Bloomfield schools. With the large West Indies population in Bloomfield Chef Tim wanted to work with a farmer that the students would recognize.
A fishy question
Dear James and Alisa,
I read your whole year of blogs, and I couldn’t get enough of every page. I have been able to locate plenty of local foods, but I am having the worst time trying to find local fish. How did you find fish?
Dear Holly,
I’m not sure where you are writing from, but in Vancouver, fish isn’t too hard to find. We just had to do a lot of asking at fish shops to find out what was local–eventually we found salmon, sardines, clams, mussels, crab, oysters and more. Eventually, we found one fisherman who fishes the waters just offshore of Vancouver and we now buy almost everything from him.
Of course, you can always buy a cheap fishing rod…
Best,
James
Alisa adds: I have been to Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Minnesota where in winter people go ice fishing–fresh fish year round! I have seen frozen local fish for sale at farmers markets too.
