People are making all kinds of efforts to eat more local food. In Tuesday's Observer, you can read about a family that ate only whole foods for 100 days.
Here's another way to work local foods into your life: The Center for Environmental Farming Systems, based at N.C. State University, has launched a statewide campaign to get you to spend 10 percent of your existing food dollars on food produced in North Carolina.
According to CEFS, North Carolinians spend about $35 billion a year on food. If we each spent about $1.05 a day, or $7.35 a week, on locally grown, raised or made food, that would put $3.5 billion into the local economy.
If you're a joiner, you can register online to pledge to do it, at www.nc10percent.com. You can also find links to organizations that can help you locate local food sources. CEFS is hoping businesses also will sign up to focus their spending power or host employee challenges to eat local. Compass Group also is a partner. It has pledged to source 10 percent of the produce it sells to N.C. clients from within the state, and will work with CEFS to develop a model "farm-to-institution" buying program.
How about it? Do you have clever ideas for how you can boost your local-food spending?
Join a local CSA to get in season locally grown produce. Know your farms and Poplar Ridge Farm are 2 options.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be great if all grocery stores labeled their local food? HT does it for produce but I'm sure there are other local foods that go unnoticed. Farmers markets are my go-to source for local foods but after the growing season local foods are harder to come by.
ReplyDeleteI've seen that at HT, but wondered just exactly they mean my "Local". Seems like it might be a marketing gimmick.
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