100-Mile Diet ChallengeWould you like to find out how you can support local farmers, eat healthier, create a secure food supply and save energy? The 100-mile Diet is the answer! Click on the links below to learn more about the 100-mile Diet and the benefits of buying and eating local!Where it all began: “When the average North American sits down to eat, each ingredient has typically traveled at least 1,500 miles -- call it ‘the SUV diet.’ On the first day of spring, 2005, Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon chose to confront this unsettling statistic with a simple experiment. For one year, they would buy or gather their food and drink from within 100 miles of their apartment in Vancouver, British Columbia.” In September of 2006, a growing movement of local citizens, concerned about eating healthier, supporting local farmers, creating a secure food supply, and saving energy, embraced the 100-mile Diet with the 100 Mile Diet Challenge. The short-term goal of this project is to build people’s awareness of where their food comes from and how much energy it takes to grow, process, and ship food to your local grocery store. The long-term goal is to garner support for local farmers and merchants, in an effort to build a stable and secure food supply. Capital District Energy Action According to CDEA, “many experts think the world will reach peak oil in the near future, in which world oil production begins an irreversible decline, while demand for energy continues to increase. Fossil fuels are intimately involved in our food supply. Most of the food in the supermarket is shipped here from hundreds, even thousands of miles away. Check this out for yourself the next time you’re in the supermarket. Peak oil/natural gas means expensive and/or scarce oil and natural gas with attendant disruptions in the price and supply of materials derived from those fuels. Modern agriculture uses fossil fuels for making fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides. Oil is used in working the farm and shipping the food to processors and supermarkets. By eating local food, we reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and help protect ourselves from disruptions in our food supply. The first step is getting people to think about where their food comes from. Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture CISA offers comprehensive information on local farming and fresh food and locally grown farm products from the Connecticut River valley of western Massachusetts. CISA links farmers and communities to strengthen agriculture and enhance the economy, rural character, environmental quality, and social well-being of that area. Many of their programs and ideas, and much of their information, can easily be adapted and applied to benefit this region. Farmers' Market Federation of New York The Farmers’ Market Federation of New York is a grassroots, membership organization of farmers’ market managers, market sponsors, farmers and market supporters. Together, they have developed a spectrum of services to increase the number and capacity of farmers’ markets in the state, develop the scope of professionalism in farmers’ market management, and improve the ability of markets to serve their farmers, their consumers, and their host communities. On this site you’ll find support materials that will guide you to the successful development, implementation and operation of farmers’ markets. Everything from publications and guides to research to evaluation tools are available. “There are many reasons to buy locally grown food. You’ll get exceptional taste and freshness, strengthen your local economy, support endangered family farms, safeguard your family’s health, and protect the environment. The FoodRoutes 'Find Good Food' map can help you connect with local farmers and start eating the freshest, tastiest food around. Just click to find your local food on the interactive map, listing farmers, CSAs, and local markets near you.” “Why locally grown? People worldwide are rediscovering the benefits of buying local food. It is fresher than anything in the supermarket and that means it is tastier and more nutritious. It is also good for your local economy -- buying directly from family farmers helps them stay in business.” Use this website to find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably-grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies. This is a group of concerned culinary adventurers who are making an effort to eat only foods grown or harvested within a 100-mile radious of San Francisco. Members of Locavores recognize that the choices they make about what foods they choose to eat are important politically, environmentally, economically, and healthfully. The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York is an organization of consumers, gardeners and farmers creating a sustainable regional food system which is ecologically sound and economically viable. The Pride of New York Program was developed to promote and support the sale of agricultural products grown and food products processed within New York State. Members include farmers and processors, retailers, distributors, restaurants and related culinary and support associations. Otsego County's agricultural resource website, with access to local, state and federal resources for starting or expanding your venture in Otsego County. Also discover here the many local products and events that are the framework of Otsego County's agricultural community. Regional Farm and Food Project Eating locally produced foods is one way to improve your diet, create a cleaner environment, and support your local economy. The Regional Farm & Food Project builds supply and demand for local foods in the Hudson-Mohawk Valley food shed. This group engages in grassroots organizing of farm and food networks, they produce educational programs, and they advocate for community-based food systems. Their goal is to restore the balance between farms and factories, local and global, people and profits. This website celebrates the sustainable food movement, educates consumers on food-related issues and works to build community through food. The vision of Field to Plate is to develop food education programs, products, and events that present food choice, learning and the eating experience in new and deeply meaningful ways. Its roots are entwined with a passion for food, flavor, and the sense of well-being, wholeness, and community that is derived from eating together.
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