Well, here we are on the 100-mile food challenge blog! My daughter, Sally, and I have been anticipating the food challenge for months now, imagining what it will be like to eat only local foods. I'll ask Sally to comment for herself, but I'll say that my feelings and thoughts have been many and varied. Everytime I sit down to a meal I think, "Now, which of these things will we be able to eat on our local foods 'diet' in June?" Frankly there have been quite a few meals which wouldn't have yielded much to either sustain or satisfy.
My feelings have ranged from excitement to dread. I have thought about the upcoming strawberry, tomato, and sweet corn seasons with pleasure, and have enjoyed making lists of all the many wonderful foods available within 100-miles. And there have also been instances when I thought, "We're gonna starve!"
We have begun to stock our pantry with preserved local foods. Sally and I froze our asparagus last week. We haven't eaten much fresh; it is prioritized for the freezer in anticipation of June 21st.
Also in our freezer I have squirreled away 10 pounds of whole wheat flour from Washington Island, and 10 pounds of heirloom white corn meal from TsyunhehkwA, the Oneida agricultural community. I still have a few raspberries and strawberries from last year in the freezer. They will hold us over until these things are ripe this summer. Currently, until the Challenge begins, local foods on our shelves are off limits to the family; I am trying instead, to use up things which we will not be able to eat during the Challenge.
I hope other Door County locavores will comment on this blog, share recipes, and research they have done to find local food sources. In future posts I will share some of the contacts with food producers and providers which I have established.
Blessings,
Ann
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2 comments:
I've been experiencing the same exhiliration and foreboding...I see oatmeal and pepperoni vaporize in front of my eyes...and yet I feel as if a whole new world is opening beyond that. I find myself spending more time with farmers and learning about what they are going through now: small farms vs: the corporate variety, and the small farmers concerns over diesel supplies being granted to corporations first -- so now guarantees that small farmers will have fuel for their own tractors. Prices of fuel forcing decisions about whether or not to grow "discretionary products" such as pumpkins and ornamental gourds: if they don't sell in the fall, the farmer's lost precious income. The visits leave me with tasty fresh eggs and asparagus...and fuel me with increased devotion to the folks who are so devoted to their craft, their land, and their community. This is real food for life that can't be bought in a chain store.
Renny and I will not be formally participating, no time or logistics for doing it justice now. However, we are helping with the garden our daughter Corinne is putting in the back yard, following the issue and looking into the day that we can focus in on this (next year?). Thank you to you pioneers who are willing and able to forge ahead right now. It is a vital effort and we may not have an option within a few years time!
Dave Lea
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