Eat Local
In North America, fruits and vegetables travel an average of 1,500 miles before reaching your dinner table.
What Can You Do?
Buying local not only saves energy used to ship produce, but also preserves flavor and nutrients. Here are three avenues for picking fresh, local produce.
Visit the local farmers' market. Visit www.localharvest.org to find one in your area.
Get involved with a community garden or start one on your own. See www.communitygarden.org to see what's growing in your neighborhood and for tips on planting your own crops.
Join a Community Supported Agriculture group (CSA). CSA members prepay a fixed seasonal fee to a local farmer in exchange for a weekly share of the harvest, delivered to a location near your home. Don't wait, though. CSAs are popular and can fill up. For information on joining a CSA group in the New York City region go to: www.justfood.org.
Full Version: Eat Local
Wow, I went to check out the site communitygarden.org and found out that our community does have one to my great surprise:
The Washington County Community Gardens (WCCG) , a project of the Ozaukee County Master Gardeners, was begun in 2007. Twenty-two plots measuring 15X25 feet were rented for $25.00 for the gardening season.
These twenty-two plots maintained by 13 gardeners fed approximately 85 individuals. Donations of excess produce were also made to the local food pantry. Fees from the gardeners and monies provided by the Ozaukee County Master Gardeners purchased a 425-gallon water tank from which each gardener hauled water to his or her plot, marsh hay, signage, and other supplies. We also provided a rent-free space for a local youth service agency. A reporter from the local newspaper maintained a garden and wrote a column which kept the community abreast of trials, tribulations, and triumphs at the WCCG. We battled squash bugs and drought, survived a deluge, and developed gardening skills while sharing stories and techniques with one another.
Far surpassing the mounds of produce yielded by the nearly 50 varieties of vegetables and flowers planted, though, were the ways in which the gardens fed our souls. More than one gardener reported that a trip to the garden helped to create a sense of peace and reduced stress. In addition, the gardeners liked the sense of community, friendliness of the gardeners, and a sense of ownership of the land.
Our second year, 2008 was highly successful as well. We added a second water tank, and by the end of the season 49 plots were tended. Some sections of the garden became virtual works of art with rustic arbors, trellises and fences made from tree and shrub cuttings. We capped off the season with our first, soon to be annual, Pot Luck Dinner.
2009 promises to be our biggest yet. We have rented 67 plots which takes up virtually all of the space available to us. Permanent metal stakes and numbered markers will be installed for each plot, and more durable public paths will be covered with donated bark mulch. We will also be a featured stop on the West Bend Beautification Committee Annual Tour in July.
(This listing was last updated on Mar 19, 2009)
The Washington County Community Gardens (WCCG) , a project of the Ozaukee County Master Gardeners, was begun in 2007. Twenty-two plots measuring 15X25 feet were rented for $25.00 for the gardening season.
These twenty-two plots maintained by 13 gardeners fed approximately 85 individuals. Donations of excess produce were also made to the local food pantry. Fees from the gardeners and monies provided by the Ozaukee County Master Gardeners purchased a 425-gallon water tank from which each gardener hauled water to his or her plot, marsh hay, signage, and other supplies. We also provided a rent-free space for a local youth service agency. A reporter from the local newspaper maintained a garden and wrote a column which kept the community abreast of trials, tribulations, and triumphs at the WCCG. We battled squash bugs and drought, survived a deluge, and developed gardening skills while sharing stories and techniques with one another.
Far surpassing the mounds of produce yielded by the nearly 50 varieties of vegetables and flowers planted, though, were the ways in which the gardens fed our souls. More than one gardener reported that a trip to the garden helped to create a sense of peace and reduced stress. In addition, the gardeners liked the sense of community, friendliness of the gardeners, and a sense of ownership of the land.
Our second year, 2008 was highly successful as well. We added a second water tank, and by the end of the season 49 plots were tended. Some sections of the garden became virtual works of art with rustic arbors, trellises and fences made from tree and shrub cuttings. We capped off the season with our first, soon to be annual, Pot Luck Dinner.
2009 promises to be our biggest yet. We have rented 67 plots which takes up virtually all of the space available to us. Permanent metal stakes and numbered markers will be installed for each plot, and more durable public paths will be covered with donated bark mulch. We will also be a featured stop on the West Bend Beautification Committee Annual Tour in July.
(This listing was last updated on Mar 19, 2009)
I'm glad the post was useful to you.. but we also have a great garden started this year.. can't wait till fall to harvest our bounty. ;)
At Local Harvest make sure to check out the CSA tab! You can find local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) anywhere in the USA
From the Reader's Digest, July 2009 magazine issue
This question was asked to singer, Willie Welson:
What can the average person do to support family farms?
Find farmers in your community and buy from them directly so there's no middleman.
Take your kids to a farm so they won't think food comes out of a box.
Tell your town's supermarkets and restaurants you want to eat fod that's grown nearby, and let your local school know you want your kids to eat family-farm food.
Tell your politicians too. I think it's wonderful tat the Obamas are serving fresh, local farm food. But I'm looking beyond the White House. I'm looking for this administration to help ensure that everyone has access to fresh food - and that we have family farmers on the land to grow that food for us.
We all need to work together.
This question was asked to singer, Willie Welson:
What can the average person do to support family farms?
Find farmers in your community and buy from them directly so there's no middleman.
Take your kids to a farm so they won't think food comes out of a box.
Tell your town's supermarkets and restaurants you want to eat fod that's grown nearby, and let your local school know you want your kids to eat family-farm food.
Tell your politicians too. I think it's wonderful tat the Obamas are serving fresh, local farm food. But I'm looking beyond the White House. I'm looking for this administration to help ensure that everyone has access to fresh food - and that we have family farmers on the land to grow that food for us.
We all need to work together.
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