Eating Local Food for One Year

(Page 2 of 2)

July/August 2009
Jean Picard 
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Since whole grains are an important part of the Youngs’ diet, one of their exceptions is a rotation of grains. Coffee is probably the most popular exception, but Kris decided to see if he could live without it.

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To demonstrate just how doable it is to eat locally for one year, Kris had the group compile a list of all the local foods that would be available at least part of the year. At the same time, he recognized the challenges and that to eat local for one year would be quite an accomplishment.

Like the Youngs, most of the participants shop farmers’ markets and grow some of their own produce. Some are part of a CSA (community-supported agriculture) program. A few who live in a rural setting even keep some animals for eggs and dairy. Gardens have been expanded in anticipation of sharing harvests. Months of research uncovered local sources for meat and other foods, and field trips have allowed the members to get to know the growers.

Two off-the-program meals per month are allowed so that dining out does not become impossible. This was important to 21-year-old Heather Rilling, the youngest in the group, who could foresee some difficulties with her dating and social life. Her other challenge is being prepared at all times.

“I surf, and surfing makes me really hungry. If I were to leave the house in a hurry without taking the time to prepare local foods to take with me, I would be tempted to go eat just anything. So this is going to take some planning,” she says.

“This is going to be an amazing thing,” Heather adds, “when I’m older and looking back, when I have children someday, I can say that I ate totally local for one year when I was 21.”

Many proponents of eating local see it as a way of preserving the rich farmland of Ventura County and staving off irrational and unsustainable development, a way of fighting the urban tide. “To pave and build over our fertile land is a bit like birds fouling their nests,” Kris says. “When residents of our county understand the critical health, food safety and global environmental benefits that accompany raising and eating local food, land-use choices will favor agriculture and put development in its proper place.” 

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  • Dennis Miller 6/24/2009 10:31:06 AM

    Yes ma'am,

    It was difficult but it really wasn't that hard. The difference between "Eat Local for a Year" and what we did is that we were fascinated with the concept of growing for ourselves without an exterior motive; we had drive to keep going without justification.

    To this day, I have year around stored potatoes, strawberries, apples, pears, tomotoes, beans (green and field), corn (sweet and field), wheat, snow peas, broccoli, and certain herbs kept alive in buckets in the garage, (fresh thyme, oregano, rosemary, and sage throughout winter!)

    But I am also addicted to out of season fresh fruit and berries from South America. I will eat 1/4 pound of Chilean blueberries at the grocery store and bring the empty containers up to the register...

    I love life :-)

  • Jean Teller 6/23/2009 3:48:14 PM

    Wow,that was quite an undertaking, Dennis. Congrats on taking a stab at it. I'm not sure I could be that brave or organized. I like going to the local farmers' market, but to grow all that myself? Not in my skill set. :) I think the Eat Local for One Year project is admirable, and it would take a lot of organization, planning and willpower. It sounds like it's a doable project for California - not sure it would be so feasible here in Kansas. Besides, what would I do without my chocolate for an entire year?! LOL

  • Dennis Miller 6/21/2009 10:30:40 AM

    A buddy and myself tried this a number of years back in Ohio. We started after we saw how the growing season was going to go.

    We did it to simulate early homesteading and nothing else. We weren't survivalists or environmentalists. This was in the early 90's before global warming was invented.

    Our goal was to grow enough to last till the next growing season which included vegetables, grains, beef, pork, and chicken.

    Things we couldn't grow we stocked up on; sugar, yeast, coffee beans, peanut butter, cooking oil, etc. The most difficult item was citrus.

    Storage was quite an issue. Trying to make the fresh fruit last was a major challenge and failure. We ended up canning allot of apples and pears earlier than we had planned...

    We also realized that we were spending and incredible amount of time being fine young agrarians.

    Any free time we had before was taken up by preparing meals, checking storage for rot and pest, and preserving food that was about to spoil.

    We learned quite a lesson that year. We also lost allot of weight.

    I am most extremely thankful for America's ability to ship fresh produce from South America during the off season.

    I can't imagine what non-farming folks would do without our inexpensive transportation and shipping lines.

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