LocalHarvest Newsletter, February 24, 2009
Many times each month, people ask us exactly how they can begin to eat locally.
The questioner invariably understands the ‘whys’ of the proposition, but is
daunted by the ‘how.’ So this month we offer a short primer on eating local
food, with emphasis on the notion of transition. Let’s start there. The first
thing to remember is that eating locally is a continuum. If you allow yourself
to get drawn into an all-or-nothing mindset, the proposition will seem
impossible. You will get derailed by the list of the imported foods you think
you can’t live without. Bananas. Coffee. Chocolate-covered yum-yums. Don’t
start with those things. Don’t even put them on the table the first year.
Eating locally is about doing what you can. It is about making the most of your
region’s agricultural strengths. It is about beginning to pay attention.
Where should you start? Focus on whole foods first. Highly processed foods are made
with many ingredients that are shipped from afar, processed, and shipped again.
It is simpler, not to mention healthier, to put your efforts into simpler
foods. Start with one or more of these food groups: produce, meat, dairy
products and eggs. In many cases, you can buy these foods directly from
farmers, which is often a highly satisfying experience in and of itself.
A few years ago, a friend whose family loves chow-mein hotdish and Cheez-its
asked me what three things she could do to better her family’s diet without
triggering a lot of grumbling. She was clear: she was not ready to take on the
whole pantry, and neither was her family. Sound familiar? She knew that if she
felt overwhelmed, the changes wouldn’t stick. But three things seemed
reasonable to her.
After talking more about her food buying habits and
priorities, we came up with this: Buy high quality chicken. Get organic milk.
Shop at the farmers market when you can. Now, we live in Minnesota, where
small-scale farmers make good meat and quality milk readily available, but the
growing season is short. Other places in the country will have a different list
of logical first steps. My LH colleagues, for example, live on the Central
Coast of California, where gorgeous fresh veggies are available almost year
round, but meat and dairy from small farms is a little harder to come by. For
people there, just committing to shop at the farmers market or to join a CSA
would bring local foods into their diets much of the year. Another regional
difference concerns food preservation: neither my colleagues in California nor
my friends in the South spend much time canning and freezing. Here in
Minnesota, we do, because that is the way to enjoy local produce in the long
winter. Getting to know what grows well in your state – and when – is a
valuable part of your education as a locavore.
As you begin to dig more deeply into your region’s specialties, you will find
that some of these cost more money than their anonymous counterparts at the
supermarket. If you are one of the many Americans experiencing real financial
distress, this may dissuade you from choosing them. But it is important to
remember that there are ways to work around price if you have some flexibility
in your food budget. For example, you might choose to buy high quality meat and
cheese, but eat it less often, and instead eat more lower-cost whole foods like
grains, beans, and in-season produce. Check out the LH blog for a close-up look
at the home economics of my family’s local foods-based diet.
Finally, it pays
to remember that for most human beings, change is difficult. Food is so
fundamental to our sense of well-being that changes in that arena may be met
with a lot of resistance. If that is the case in your house, go slowly and look
for small windows of opportunity. For example, enjoy lots of local strawberries
when they are in their glory. If you can, go out to the farm and have fun
picking some of your own. Really pay attention to how good – and how different
– they are. Acclimate your taste buds and over time your family may decide that
the local ones are worth waiting for. You may even decide to throw a few bags
of berries into the freezer for later. And you’re on your way…
In sum: Start with whole foods. Don’t make it too hard. Study your region’s
agricultural strengths, and play up to them. Look for ways to be creative with
your budget. Be gentle with your self and your family as you try out new
habits. Do these things, and you will set yourself up for a highly satisfying
adventure in local eating, and a deeper connection to your food.
Erin Barnett
Director, LocalHarvest
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