My husband, Kenny (an academic) and I (Maureen - a nurse) are going to do our best to eat locally for one year beginning on May 1, 2009. We know that we aren't the first ones to attempt this and we hope we won't be the last. We've been inspired by Helen and Scott Nearing, Linda Cockburn, Michael Pollan, Eric Brende, Joan Dye Gussow, Alisa Smith, J.B. MacKinnon, the Dervaes family, and Barbara Kingsolver. All of these people have written on subjects that touch on our project in some way.
For the most part, the local food movement is about conserving and using natural resources in a more sane way. Read Plenty, by Smith and MacKinnon, for more detailed information. Although I find myself astonished at the average distance traveled by my food between farm and plate, conservation isn't my primary motivation. I'm looking for meaning. I'm looking for a way to be connected to the world in a way that feels more satisfactory. As I figure out more about what I mean by that, I'll write more.
Kenny and I are still working out the rules. Different people have defined local food in different ways. Smith and MacKinnon followed a 100 mile diet, while the Dervaes family strives for 100 feet. Joan Dye Gussow advocates eating food that is grown within a day's drive of your home. After much debate, Kenny and I decided to limit ourselves to food that is produced within our home state of Georgia. We have a medium sized vegetable garden, a relationship with a farmer that raises beef, chicken, and eggs. (We are not now vegetarians.) A small, local farmers' market will open on May 2. We know that we can find a Georgia source for corn meal, corn grits, corn flour, but we are not sure about wheat. We are giving up coffee, but will continue to indulge occasionally in local beers. We are worried about oil -- particularly because butter is the only oil we are sure we could find locally -- and we are in our mid forties -- not a time in our lives when we want to restrict our oil intake to butter. Like Smith and MacKinnon, we will allow ourselves to consume whatever we have in our pantry when we begin -- but we feel that it would be cheating to "stock up" on hard to find items. We are considering making an exception for olive oil.
What do we have in the pantry?
20-25 lbs of Jasmine rice (I buy this in bulk at a local Asian Market)
10 lbs of flour
5 lbs of masa harina
2 lbs of corn meal
4 bags of Ghiradelli chocolate chips
1-2 lbs of sugar
4 lbs of brown sugar
2 lbs of assorted dried Mexican chiles
2 lbs of salt
assorted dried spices
about 3 gallons of various vinegars
baking powder, baking soda, yeast
8 cans of rotel tomatoes
1 lb bag of sushi rice
about 30 sheets of sushi nori
1 can of coconut milk
boxes of Lipton tea, decaf tea, various herbal teas
2 cans of Coca Cola
1 can of tuna
1 pint of tomatillo salsa that I canned last year
1 pint of canola oil
1 quart of olive oil
In our freezer we have venison given to us by Kenny's stepfather, some local ground beef, and about 5 lbs of non local chicken. We also have one small package of frozen spinach, and one of frozen peas.
We have in the fridge a lot of condiments -- soy sauce, fish sauce, ketchup, mustard, low fat mayo, tabasco sauce, sriracha sauce, thai kitchen curry paste. It is entirely possible that we have enough condiments to last a year.
Wish us luck!
