Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Welcome to Local Foods Columbus!


This is a blog about a couple (Jacob and Katie) taking on the challenge of eating everything (or at least as much as possible) sourced within the state of Ohio. I am an environmentalist and my boyfriend simply enjoys good food, so we decided to do this because of the benefits to our tastebuds, the environment, the local economy, and our health. We decided to take a few hints from people who have already experienced similar challenges (Barbara Kingsolver for example) and lay out some guidelines for ourselves. We have a few exceptions to our strict diet regimen including the following:
-We can eat at restaurants and at friends/family houses (although if possible when dining out, we will try to eat at local, independently owned restaurants)
-We have a few items that we refer to as 'sanity savers' (chocolate, alcohol, tonic water) and there are a few items that are necessary for simple cooking that cannot be sourced locally (baking soda, baking powder, spices). For all of these items, we may not buy locally but we will try to get them using the most sustainable methods possible, for example getting fair trade, organic chocolate. There are also a few items that stretch our geographical boundary just slightly, like beet sugar that we found sourced in Michigan by a company that benefits the economy the beets are grown and processed in.
-We will pay close attention to our labels and just because a product is manufactured or distributed by a company in Ohio doesn't mean it qualifies for us. Most if not all of the raw materials in any processed product need to be sourced from Ohio.
-We are allowed to eat the processed foods that are already in our pantry but we cannot purchase any new ones. As they say, waste not want not!
We started switching over to this diet approximately a month ago and have a had a few small hiccups but are surviving. This blog will follow us in our adventures and we will try to post as many resources as possible for other Ohio locavores! To all readers of the blog, please feel free to post comments and questions to your heart's content because local eating is all about making social connections and finding alternatives to the 'norms' of society.

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