The first week of August marks another Local Food Challenge-- a nationwide "competition" where citizens are encouraged to eat only locally grown and produced goods. Sponsored by national and state Slow Food organizations, the Local Food Challenge promises more than just a whole lot of kale. While there may not be any prizes for the family that "wins" by consuming all locally grown goods, organizers tout the obvious benefits of healthy eating as the prize itself.
Originally conceived as a way to bring attention to local organic farmers, co-ops, and farmers markets, the Local Food Challenge has expanded to encourage participants to grow their own. The goal is not to provide a financial boon to local farmers, though organizers admit it is a nice plus when it happens. Rather, the goal is to draw attention to the connection people have to their food source, their land, and their community.
So What Exactly Is "Local?"
Just what goods qualify as locally-grown or produced can be a bit of a moving target. Generally speaking, organizers encourage participants to find food grown or produced within a one-hundred mile radius of their communities. Participants pledge to source a certain percentage of their household groceries from such sources. Pledges begin at 10% and go all the way up to 100% for those feeling particularly inspired and ambitious.
For those products not produced locally (such as coffee, olive oils, and teas), participants are encouraged to find fair trade sources for those goods. The hope is that the spirit of the locavore movement will catch on to impact areas of global trade, pushing developing nations into more healthful and humane methods of raising crops and livestock.
Who Can Participate?
Anyone can take part in the Local Food Challenge, either officially or unofficially. There are no prizes for successfully completing the challenge nor are there any monitoring mechanisms in place to monitor participation. Some participating grocers such as local food cooperatives will have a sign-up sheet and a guide for locating locally-sourced goods. Otherwise, the entire event exists on the honors system, with the grand prize being the benefit of a week of great organic food and the satisfaction of knowing your consumer dollars have not gone far from your home.
What Happens Next
Even though the challenge is for one week, participants and organizers hope that the habits, and the mindset stay with consumers indefinitely. The more support shown for local, organic farms, the more local, organic foods find their way into communities. Those dollars in turn help fund local schools, libraries, parks, and all the other things that make a community home. If there really is a prize in the Local Food Challenge it is in the community roots forged in the simple act of buying food.
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