I resolve to decrease the negative impact that I have on the world, and increase the positive impact that I have on my environment, my community, and my local economy. I will start small, but grow each day.
I begin this adventure with a new vocabulary word, that I just learned yesterday, as I was "googling" for salsa recipes, making a list of heirloom salsa vegetables in anticipation of another bumper crop of hot peppers from my garden next summer.
What is a "locavore?"
A locavore is someone who considers the source of his or her food (and, by extension, goods and services), and, whenever possible, chooses to support things that are grown, produced or distributed locally.
My mom, Linda, came to stay with us to help us through the Christmas holiday (third cycle of chemotherapy threatened to interfere with my holiday cheer, but we had a wonderful week). As we prepared various holiday meals in my urban home, we reminisced about fresh eggs from our chickens, home-canned summertime to last through bleak winters, and the joys of pick-your-own produce, homemade baked goods and other delectables. All product placement aside, the photo of our Christmas breakfast became the starting point of a conversation on a kinder, gentler, simpler way of living.
When I first was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2009, I began a mission to determine, of all the things I could not control about my diagnosis, the things that WERE within my control. Hence my studies of organic foods, sustainable living, and, most recently, the "eat locally challenge".
Here are some links that I found to help me out:
"10 Steps to Becoming a Locavore, " by Jennifer Maiser
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/344/locavore.html
"Eat Local Challenge," (Jennifer Maiser, editor)
http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/
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What is "local?"
Local is whatever you decide it is for you. For many, it begins with a 100-mile radius around the town where you live. Here is a handy tool that I used to determine "local" for me:
"Find Your 100 Miles" (Alisa Smith & J. B. MacKinnon)
http://100milediet.org/get-started/map
For me, a 100-mile radius around Hartford, CT, extended into most New England states, as well as parts of Northern New Jersey and Eastern New York, so I decided, for the purposes of my "locality", I would look for products from all the New England states (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut), as well as New York and New Jersey.
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Folks who supply "eco-friendly" alternatives to my Christmas breakfast items:
( from http://www.greenpeople.org/ and my own experiences-- "Green People" will let you search your area by zipcode)
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Alchemy Juice Bar Cafe, Hartford, CT -- restaurant and grocer, organic and vegetarian foodsGood Gifts, Naturally, LLC, Windsor, CT - sustainable, fair-trade foods and goods
http://www.goodgiftsnaturally.com/
Eagle Wood Farm, Barkhamsted, CT -- organic, sustainable beef, pork, goat and lamb
http://www.eaglewoodgourmetfood.com/
Urban Oaks Organic Farm, New Britain, CT -- specialty, organic and heirloom produce
http://www.blog.urbanoaks.org/
Shaggyhill Farm & Feed, Bethany, CT -- organic, sustainable dairy and eggs
Hosmer Mountain Soda, Willimantic, CT -- family-run, locally produced, spring-water made soda in returnable glass bottles
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Tomorrow:
- Choose 5 foods...
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