The 38 Day Eat Local Challenge Epic that encouraged the people of Vancouver and beyond to eat a more local diet has come to an end, but the journey has just begun!

I was at first dismayed to see that only 64 people in total had signed up on the Challenge website, but have come to realize just how many people did the challenge but didn’t sign up.Not to mention the number of people that already include a significant amount of local food in their diet every day of the year.

I punched in the numbers and found that these 64 people who did sign up had managed to save a total of 3589 kg of greenhouse gas emissions from entering our atmosphere.Need something to compare that to?This would be the equivalent of approximately 165 compact cars off the road for one day.That’s a lot of cars!

I also noticed that a large percentage of the people who signed up online were highly committed, taking on the full 38 days and/or 100% 100-Mile!

So many questions have been raised throughout the process leading me to realize that this is only the beginning of the local food movement’s potential.Questions relating to trade, land priorities, jobs, policy, health, the environment and more specifically climate change have arisen and need to be addressed.

Thank you to everyone who has challenged themselves in this experiment of sorts.I hope that the experiences coming out of challenging yourself to eat more locally have inspired you in one way or many.I know that I’ve taken much from the experience and feel enriched from the love and care that our local farmers instilled into each and every ingredient of my edible life.

~S~

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