My Journey to Local
I used to live off of junk food. It's true, I did. I was raised on processed foods, and I wasn't taught how to cook anything. I didn't know mashed potatoes began as anything more than a "bud" until I was in my double digits. My awkwardness in the kitchen was balanced only by my mad microwaving skills. By the time I was a teenager, it wasn't looking good for my lifelong nutritional intake.
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13.0pt;font-family:"Times CE";mso-bidi-font-family:"Georgia Bold Italic"">At 15 I became a vegetarian. Which, you know, is interesting for a young girl who didn't really eat veggies, unless mom thawed frozen broccoli (in the microwave) and covered it with a melted slice of American cheese, or if they came in the T.V. dinner. In college, friends taught me the difference between dicing and mincing, or how to peel an onion. I gained some very basic cooking skills while dining with others, but I still mainly subsisted on mac and cheese and fake chicken nuggets. As I got a bit older, I moved from the blue box to Annie's mac and cheese. Definitely progress, but still, not a very balanced diet.
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13.0pt;font-family:"Times CE";mso-bidi-font-family:"Georgia Bold Italic"">When Just Food Co-op opened here in Northfield, Minnesota, a door to the Real food world opened for me along with it. I began cooking. With vegetables. And recipes. I cut back on pre-packaged foods, and never again got a burrito from a drive-thru. I realized that I liked knowing what was in my food, I liked the way homemade food tasted, and I liked making it. But until Just Food Co-op's first Eat Local Challenge, I didn't really concern myself too much with who was actually growing my ingredients. And, really, that's the most important question, isn't it?
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13.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times CE";mso-bidi-font-family:"Georgia Bold Italic"">Because when you know your grower, you know how they treat the land, handle the food, and treat their workers (if they are lucky enough to have them). And if I can't actually know my grower, I like that my co-op does.
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line-height:150%;font-family:"Times CE";mso-bidi-font-family:"Georgia Bold Italic"">The relationship between farmer and eater is all kinds of beneficial, from keeping dollars in the local economy to long-term food security. The more that each of us can seek out locally-produced foods, the bigger the demand gets, and the more beginning farmers can see a financially viable future in growing good food. And it doesn’t hurt, either, that knowing your farmer and visiting their farm builds trust between grower and eater.
line-height:150%;font-family:"Times CE";mso-bidi-font-family:"Georgia Bold Italic""> line-height:150%;font-family:"Times CE";mso-bidi-font-family:"Georgia Bold Italic"">The Eat Local Challenge is a wonderful opportunity to participate in a fun activity that does a world of good. It can introduce you to new products and vegetables. It can help you to build new healthy habits, like cooking. And it celebrates the true celebrities of the food world: the sustainable farmers that grow our foods with love and care.
line-height:150%;font-family:"Times CE";mso-bidi-font-family:"Georgia Bold Italic""> line-height:150%;font-family:"Times CE";mso-bidi-font-family:"Georgia Bold Italic"">March 1-7 marks the third year of Just Food Co-op’s Winter Eat Local Challenge. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to eat 50% of your food from the 5-state area for one week. That’s local noodles with your jar of pasta sauce. It’s local popcorn with salt. It’s Brick Oven bread with your peanut butter. It’s local milk or honey in your coffee. 50% is a challenge… but you can do it!
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line-height:150%;font-family:"Times CE";mso-bidi-font-family:"Georgia Bold Italic"">The Co-op will host a few events, such as an intro to permaculture class, a local food potluck, and CSA Day, to inspire throughout the week. And the Eat Local: Just Food blog site
"Georgia Bold Italic"">is always a great place to go for encouragement. So are you in? Sign up on the big poster soon to be seen at the front of the store, and tell the world you’re taking the Winter Eat Local Challenge!
