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Local Food Challenge
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Local Food Challenge
I have accepted a challenge for the month of July; eat only locally grown/raised food.
I think this is great and I’m encouraging others to do the same. I believe it is so important to support others in our local community and this will be awareness to which farm we can get what from. Also, it’s so much healthier and I can’t wait to see what positive changes my body makes from eating only local. This will be great practice for if there should never be a time grocery stores are unavailable.
Ok, so whose going to do this challenge with me?
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21 Replies
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I am up for the Eat Local challenge. I am also going to post it to my other social media.
BTW July is a super easy month to do this in.
soma_farms Do you mind if I copy and paste this?
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This reply was modified 5 months, 4 weeks ago by 1898_Homestead.
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Yes, please! I hope everyone does this!
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This reply was modified 5 months, 4 weeks ago by
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Why, why local food only? Myself I will eat food from far away or local. A person in Alaska has a hard time growing wheat as a person in father down.
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Yes, I get that. I think the point of the challenge is eating better – no (chemically) processed foods also cooking from scratch and to support your local community (farmers/other homesteaders that sell their excess). It doesn’t mean that you can buy a loaf of fresh made bread from your locally bakery even though the flour was grown somewhere else.
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So you are also rejecting organic chem free food that is a long way off? I still don’t see the connection of travel distance to where you eat it. Some areas of the country may not have the bug pressure that you have where you grow locally. Thus for the small cost of travel it may be easier to take the abundant organic chem free produce and move it to where it is desired….
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I am not knocking anyone that produces food organically. This is simply a healthy challenge that supports your local community. It is virtually impossible, especially today, to have everything you need locally. For example, unless you have a few as house plants (which they are hard to keep, I failed) you can’t grow black pepper here. I know our family uses this a lot for seasoning. To me, this challenge goes even deeper because that is something that I’ll be mindful of to have more stocked up just in case.
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Yeah I have a few pounds in reserve as well. Trying to do everything local can be painful as smelting your own copper for your generator.
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We will join, like to do suche challenges.
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Awesome!
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You are correct that all farmers should be supported. But there are some advantages to shopping locally. Food that is produced far away might not be fresh by the time it gets to you. Some fruits and vegetables are picked green and then are artificially ripened if they have to be shipped very far. Plus, all that shipping is unnecessary expense and pollution if you could get a similar item locally. And if we make lots of connections locally, we strengthen our community. Hopefully, strong local communities in a few places will encourage others to strengthen their local communities, also.
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Yes, exactly!
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I can’t do it, but I will try posting what you said elsewhere.
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Thank you! Maybe you could try another time or see how close you can get to eating locally?
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I can go along with only BUYING locally produced in July, but I have produce coming from Azure Standard next weekend and I’ll be eating that in July so it doesn’t spoil. I already source my beef, pork, chicken, honey, eggs, milk, most veg (everyone grows red potatoes, so if I want bakers i have to look elsewhere) & some fruit locally…could source turkey, lamb, goat, etc. if I ate those things. The only thing is, we can’t grow rice around here (only wild rice), many of the spices, blackberries, that sort of thing…but for one month I can go without those things.
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That’s great! Don’t worry I have perishables that I’m not letting go bad either – groceries are too expensive for that! At least Azure comes from good farmers. I’d love to share recipes amongst each other!
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You’ve obviously never tasted my cooking! I don’t really use recipes, whatever is on hand, if it seems like it might work with other flavors, gets added. I’m definitely in a food rut, eating the same few things over & over…and since I don’t like doing dishes I’m a big fan of “one dish wonders”.
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I don’t like doing dishes either lol
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How should we have ever tasted your home made cooking, wish we could would be great. Like your cooking what is available and one pan wonders, I am way more complicated. Love Arabic cooking, can not help it my roots. And Indonesian and Chinese, the whole table full with different dishes. But it takes the whole day or days to prepare and I am the only one who can stand the heat spices. Love to eat a bit of each and enjoy all those aromas and taste.
Bread and potatoes is not my favorite, more rice and pasta stir fried meals also for breakfast. So I have a lot a dishes, also use many cups for beverages. So you are a smart cook!
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Last month our local U-Pick opened, a hundred acres of garden where we can pick anything, paying $12 for a 5 gallon bucket. Also they have already picked vegetables and fruit available. I was kind of busy all month picking and canning. They also raise their own beef and sell the meat.
My town has a Farmer’s Market every Saturday during the summer, too. I haven’t been in a few years. Maybe next year I can sell my plums there. I’m too old to have a big enough garden to sell anything.
I grew up eating the meat and vegetables we raised and grew. We foraged, too. My parents cooked meat on weekends. During the week we had leftover meat and at least three vegetables every night. With cornbread or rolls.
As an adult I started planning meat with every meal. Then I started canning chicken, beef and pork. I haven’t figured out how to can bacon and ribs yet. It is so easy to make anything without needing to thaw out the meat. Quick, too.
Last night I browned a jar of ground beef with some onion. Added some home canned salsa. Rolled that into bought tortillas. A layer of them in the baking dish with a jar of homemade re-fried beans topped with more salsa. Baked for 20 minutes. Then topped with Mexican cheese. Yummy.
Wheat is not grown locally, but corn is. My family raised and processed the meat we ate. I’m too old to chase down a wandering bull again, but it would be nice to feed scraps to a hog or chickens. If the neighbors didn’t have free range pit bulls. They are why I can’t even raise rabbits now.
So your challenge is basically my every day. It is healthier.
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Wow! I wish I had a UPick near me like that! That sounds like an awesome way to get fresh veggies and fruits. Thank you for sharing your story. I love hearing people’s stories of the way they were grown up. I’ve heard a lot of that where they didn’t eat meat a lot and sweets where only a Sunday treat because the pastor might come and eat with you. I am glad you are eating that way. I am guilty of submitting to the modern days and I really want to get back to the way it used to be! God bless you
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If anyone is interested, this is the Facebook group for this challenge (I just got permission to share it)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1026013641443620/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT
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