Eat Local Challenge

I've been thinking a lot about the food I eat lately--what's in it, where it comes from, and why it has to come from so far away--especially vegetables. I was doing some Internet searching the other day, and I ran across this Web site with something called the Eat Local Challenge. I have long been fascinated with the Slow Foods Movement, and I thought this might be a good way to get started.


In order to get started, I have to answer these questions:


1. What's your definition of local for this challenge?
Since I will be moving this month and it will surely affect my eating habits, I will define local as any food that is locally grown in the state I am currently in, as I will be in Louisiana, Ohio, and Michigan in the next month.

2. What exemptions will you claim?
While I am on the road, I will prepare snacks from a local source from the beginning of my trip for the road, but will probably have to dine somewhere along the way in a restaurant. This will be an exception. Also, my Penzeys spice collection will be a huge list of exceptions! Coffee, too.

3. What is your personal goal for the month?
Because the move cuts the month in half and my kitchen will be packed in a week, I am going to set a goal of one meal a week completely from local sources. And, I plan to buy Gary Paul Nabhan's Coming Home to Eat to read on the road in order to learn more about this exciting concept.

My overall goal is to spend some spare time this month discovering and learning more about this concept so that when I settle again back in Michigan, I can do it on a more consistent basis.