Living In A Local Zone

About 3 years ago, I started eating local foods whenever I could. I want to support our local farmers and those who tend the earth in the most responsible way possible. I like to feel a connection to the land and know where my food came from, and I like to minimize the adverse impact my consumption has on the environment. Plus, I found that local just tastes better

This, however, is the first year I am going “strictly local” meaning defining a zone and eating almost exclusively inside that. I made this decision in September 2008, even though I realized that winter would soon arrive and leave a new localvore somewhat stranded without a fast effort at storing food for the coming months. We’ll see how that goes soon, I guess, lol. I’ve got quite a stash (pics to follow) so I am hopeful there, and combined with what I think is a good zone with lots of fresh dairy, grains, and farmers who can supply me through January (and a few markets even beyond that) I am hopeful for success.

Inspired by all the blogs I see as part of Laura’s motivating Dark Days 2008/2009 Challenge I joined this year, I thought I’d jump in with my own. I hope this blog can track my journey (and learning curve) eating only foods grown/made within 100 miles of my home in Newington, Connecticut, USA. This tool was great to help define my area – I was surprised to learn just how much it included!

Oh, I should mention that I (and the rest of my family) am a lacto-vegetarian, meaning I do eat milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese, but not eggs, fish, poultry, seafood, meat, cheese made with rennet, etc. The one hitch in this is that I am also lactose intolerant, so I muddle through with the aid of lactaid pills. I eat “whole foods” meaning basically fruits, veg, dry beans, and whole grains without preservatives, additives, etc. This makes me very happy eating foods fresh from our fabulous local farms here in central Connecticut, and the suppliers I’ve found in Southern Massachusetts and Western New York.

I do claim a couple exemptions in the local zone:

• spices (not herbs though) – though I try to get as much as I can locally
• mango – this one has a history in that I’ve literally eaten a mango every day for the past 9 years. I can’t get these in CT, and they have unique importance to me (not to mention they are something my family has incorporated as part of our lives). More on this in a later post, hopefully
• food items taken for medicinal/healing purposes – I was raised using food as a healing tool when sick, meaning things like ginger, turmeric, cumin powder, peppermint, prunes etc. for specific ailments. I’ll keep doing this, since the main goal is to get healthy at times like those, even if they are from outside my zone. The same logic will apply when I am sick and can only stand certain foods in my stomach. If what I can manage to keep down or what is sustaining me is not local, I’ll eat it anyway – I’ll need to get better.

This is what I think covers it, since I can get wholemeal flours (corn, wheat, rye, oats) from a local source at Wild Hive Farm, and beans from various local suppliers as well. I make my own breads whenever I can, and have found some local bakeries that I like to support for special treats. That said, its my first year as a full localvore, so we’ll see how I fare

I also love to grow my own veg and fruit when I can. I moved to a new house at the end of June 2008, so I was a bit late on this past growing season. Even so, I got a lovely crop of various tomatoes, zucchini, beans, kale, swiss chard, radishes, carrots, and cucumbers. I’d like this blog to also track my journey into foods I grew myself, understanding planting and planning, and learning how to get the most I can out of each area I cultivate.

So there’s the plan – now it’s off for the ride!