Tomatillo Pork Chops and Education

I don't want to be thought as a "blog hog" (this is my last entry until another one comes up), but I wanted to add a couple things before the end of the Eat Local Challenge. First, if you have not seen the recipe book From Asparagus To Zucchini, you should take a look at it (I am not sure if Just Local Food still has any, but we bought ours there). There are a few recipes for everything you can think of. A couple nights ago, we had tomatillo sauce (tomatillos from Sylvan Hills Farm and are they good and fresh!) covered pork chops for dinner. On the side, squash (CSA) with local syrup and butter on it, some tomatoes (CSA) with bread (homemade) and Havarti (Nelsons) cheese.

Has anyone else seen a decrease in the amount of their weekly garbage due to the Eat Local Challenge? We have noticed it specifically in the last two/three months since a lot of the produce has started coming up.

I would like to encourage and challenge all of us "localvores" to think this winter how we can introduce eating locally to more people. I look at myself. Ten years ago living in Rockford, IL, I will be honest, I was eating a lot of frozen pizzas, stuffed jalapeno poppers, packaged pot pies, sixty-nine cent frozen burritos, not thinking about where my meat came from, organic was probably not in my vocabulary, nor was sustainable, etc. Did this happen overnight? No. Did they all happen at the same time? No. Was it from one experience or one person? No. How did I go from that person to who I am today when it comes to the type of food I eat and what I pay attention to? Simply, it was gradual and involved meeting different people and reading different articles/books, etc. I frequent the Phoenix Park Farmers Market weekly. Personally, I think as a community we do a better job at eating locally than a lot of communities. I would also argue that a decent percentage of the people who shop at the weekly markets are not really aware of all the positive aspects of eating locally. I think for a lot of the people, it is part of their habit or way of life. That is great. However, how do we reach more people? How do we do it? What is our goal? Do we have one? Are there measuring sticks? How do we get local food in cafeteria settings (hospitals, schools, prisons, nursing homes, etc.) How do we introduce it to kids so they ask for it at home? How do we knock down barriers?

There is a great energy and movement here in the Chippewa Valley. At the same time, it seems that there is a history of eating locally and/or having local producers. That is a huge advantage. Many areas of the country do not have that. With the energy, history, and existing conditions, it seems that we are ripe for a powerful local food revolution here in the Chippewa Valley, if it is not already happening. Let's keep this thing rolling!