Eating Local Tips

The people at 100-mile diet Stepped in to challenge themselves to eat local for 1 year. This is what is said to have kicked of the "eating Local" movement. Below are some tips they give to eat local. Visit their website, or check out their books for more detail.

Getting Started Guide
The 100-Mile Diet is simple. It’s a living experiment in local eating that will reconnect you with your food, your local farmers, the seasons, and the landscape you live in.

Here’s how to get started:
1. Start small.
You can start with a single meal, a 100-Mile day, a one-week commitment. Most people partner up, or do the 100-Mile Diet as a family or group.

2. There are no rules.
Make your 100-Mile Diet experiment a challenge. If you’re trying it for a day, consider getting tough: every ingredient in every product has to come from within 100 miles (that was our rule for a year). Over a longer period, escape clauses are nice. Maybe the occasional restaurant meal or dinner at friends’ houses?

3. Surf the Internet.
There are likely resources specific to your area, from lists of nearby organic farms to community kitchens where people get together to can foods. A great resource for Americans is Local Harvest, where you can find markets, local-food-friendly restaurants, farms, and food delivery programs for every region.

4. Find your farmers’ market.
The easiest and most fun step toward eating locally. Make the market a weekly priority for your food shopping. To find yours, search the web, look for listings in local newspapers, or call your area’s tourism office. Check out our 13 Lucky Farmers Market Tips for more info. In Indiana just check Going Local

5. Find your farmers.
Most larger cities and many smaller towns have organic food delivery companies, often with direct connections to local farms. Consider joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, in which you support a specific farm by paying a lump sum at the beginning of each growing season and then sharing in that farm’s food products year-round. Check out Going Local for this info in Indiana also.

6. Start a garden — even a tiny one.
Self-sufficiency feels good, and greens up our cities and towns. Some communities have community gardens you can plant in. If you do not, remember this: many began as ‘guerrilla gardens’ planted on longtime vacant lots.

7. Plan a winter garden.
Winter is a tough time to find local produce, but you might be surprised at what still can grow. Ask your gardening friends or at garden shops, or read through regional seed catalogues. We keep garlic, kale, mustard greens, turnips and cabbage going throughout the winter. Spinach and Swiss chard are other good winter greens.

8. Buy in bulk and preserve.
Buying bulk saves money, and since it is often hard to find local preserves, you may have to do it yourself. Well, throw a party. With a few bottles of local wine and cider, even a small group can make quick work of canning jams, pickles, fruit and tomatoes. We also froze corn, spinach, carrots, basil pesto, beans, Brussels sprouts and more. A cornucopia for the winter. Don’t know how to do any of this? Neither did we. Call up your elders before the knowledge is lost, try the local library, or go online with National Center for Home Food Preservation.

9. Join the movement.
If you haven’t already, pledge to do the 100-Mile Diet to help you bring your eating closer to home. Everyone, and every meal, counts.