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TODAY, MAY 7 Capitola, CA 7:30 - 8:30 pm Capitola Book Cafe 475 41st Avenue TUESDAY, MAY 8 Danville, CA 12 - 1:30 pm Rakestraw Books 409 Railroad Avenue with a locally grown lunch! MAY 7, 2007--We're still in California, slack-jawed at the variety of food. Still, local eating remains a "fringe" idea here - it is still only the few and the brave. They're having a lot of fun, though… Today, a few more comments and stories from locavores across the continent. From Sandra in New York: I have one answer for your question regarding wheat in NY. By reading the blog at 100milechallenge.com, I learned that Albany-area 100-milers found wheat nearby - Champlain Valley Milling, in Westport, NY, on the NY/VT border. It's a bit outside my 100 miles, but it's the nearest source I can find. Wheat has been grown in New York since the earliest colonial times, but is today grown mainly in support of the dairy industry. According to the Department of Agriculture & Markets, the state is 32nd in wheat production, and 10th in oats. It's more proof that our local food systems are usually limited far more by economic policy and specialization than by ecological limits. From Shannon in British Columbia: I'm hooked - and what better time to start local eating than Earth Day? In case you didn't know, I wanted to tell you about stevia, an easily grown herb that is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, but with zero calories. If you have a sunny deck, you can sprinkle a few seeds in a pot and soon your 100-mile diet could be that much sweeter! Thanks, Shannon - we had no idea stevia was so easy to grow. We might just try it in our new apartment (we now have two balconies - both with great views of Dumpsters, just like on our old place). From Holly: I was looking for a way to bring home to my 10-year old son the message about the impacts of consumer choices. So, in conjunction with reading Plenty, we picked a night, foraged through the backyard, and had a lovely meal of dandelion leaves, chives, and some wild parsley thing. (Our backyard is untreated with herbicides/pesticides. I should also mention we live in a city of 18,000 people.) We are now in the stages of converting to 100-mile foods only. In the course of the past year I did instill a vegetarian diet in the house, as well as no processed foods. Both have gone surprisingly well. I'm looking forward to this next healthy endeavor. Thanks, Holly. More from the mailbag soon - keep those stories coming. -James and Alisa

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