Seacoast Eat Local

Challenge pledges

In September 2007, dozens of Seacoast area residents participated in the Eat Local Challenge. Everyone was encouraged to define their own challenges, including time, duration, and degree. Here are some of their challenge pledges:

Al from Exeter writes, "Now that I realize how many local farms are right in the area, I am going to try and get most if not all my produce from locally produced and locally-owned farms/companies... within a 100 mile circle. The Exeter Farmer's Market is a great start. If I can't find what I need then I will try and stick to buying from companies in the New England states...and gradually move outward to surrounding states if need be. But my overall goal this month is to try

Willow Pond Community Farm at the Holiday Farmers' Market, photo by Jim Gallivan

and stay as local as I can with the food I buy! I want to be more conscious of what ingredients and foods go into the recipes I make and where that food came from. I want to try and use as many local ingredients in every meal I make this month whether it be local eggs, milk, cheese, vegetables, fruit, maple syryp,etc. My exemptions, like many other people have mentioned, will be....chocolate, tea, citrus juices & fruits, spices. I look forward to this challenge and being more conscious of what goes into my meals."

Jean of Stratham writes, "My personal goal for this month is to eat at least one 100% local meal a day." She will seek out foods from New England and southeast Canada and will exempt offee, olive oil, molasses, dry spices.

Organic heirloom winter squash from Meadow's Mirth Farm, photo by J. Gallivan

Alison M. of Barrington writes, "I am a meat eater so my goal for this month is to make contacts and take the steps to source meat locally year round. I already get my pork this way but want to purchase beef and lamb from local sources. If I cannot find a good steady source of local chickens, I will consider partnering with a friend to raise our own and try to make that happen this month. I also am taking stock of the items I can live without or substantially reduce in my diet that are not local or really sustainable e.g. bananas, and making a conscious decision not to buy them. I'm also switching some of my choices from organic to local ( e.g. butter)"

Boeister from Amesbury will include locally produced foods from locally owned companies.

photos by Jennifer Dickert

Teresa from Somersworth writes, "My family (me, my husband, and our 6-year-old daughter) will eat at least one local meal each day in September. We define local as being within a 100-mile radius of our home in Somersworth, NH. We will include items that are produced locally, such as bakery items from a local bakery. Our exemptions will include: coffee (we purchase fair trade coffee), tea (mainly from White Heron Tea Company in Rollinsford), spices, olive oil, and some bakery ingredients such as baking soda, baking powder, vanilla extract, etc. We are excited to try this challenge - and to hopefully extend it after the first month!!!"

Michelle from Kittery writes, "The 100-mile rule is a great rule of thumb. But when purchasing things that aren't grown in our region, like the coffee and chocolate I enjoy so much, I've been choosing locally owned small businesses as my suppliers. I believe very much in the ways these

businesses contribute to civic life, so I'm including breads, beer, coffee, and the like that might not be made from ingredients from our region but definitely support and improve the quality of life on the Seacoast as well as preserve traditional skill and knowledge as they're created." She will "spend my entire food budget for September on mostly locally grown food to supplement the staples. Anything I can't find locally grown I'll buy from a small local purveyor."

cherry tomatoes from the Portsmouth Farmers' Market

Rebecca from South Berwick is going to try to buy all produce, eggs, and milk from farms under a 30 minute drive from her home.

Sara Hamilton of Rye writes, "I will strive for the 100 mile circle for 95% of the food for September. There are a few items that are made here in the 100 mile circle...or New England that I will allow myself to have even though the ingredients in those products don't necessarily come from New England. Beer is a good example of that. I can certainly be satisfied with local beers, I usually am. But their ingredients are typically from the North West [some ingredients] or even Germany. I will list a couple of exemptions however, my goal is for the month of September to be as strict as possible. I feel that when I am feeling desperate for a certain item, being strict will instigate either some serious research or some serious creativity."

Jenness Farm goat

Bobbi from South Berwick will be eating one meal a day from locally grown and locally made products. Her exemption will be tea.

Holbrook from Portsmouth will eat foods from within 175 miles of Portsmouth to include the foods that the Little Milkman, a home and commerical delivery service for regional and local foods, provides. His personal goal is to "become more aware of what places in town use local ingredients, rather than just cooking at home all month."

Hilary Niles from Barrington, New Hampshire writes, "My goal for September WAS to get as close to the 100-mile diet as I could. (For home cooking, I would only use local food. For eating out, I would prioritize restaurants that use local food, and would prioritize local food from their menus). But I've gone hardcore. 100 miles, and that's it ... with the following exemptions: coffee, really good chocolate, and food that is offerred to me by a host."

Pat C. from Dover, New Hampshire is striving for striving for 100% locally grown food. She will exempt citrus fruit, although she may be able to eat locally even for that, as she is "the proud owner of a lime bearing tree!"

Liz and Stuart from Eliot, Maine will be making conscious decisions and keeping track of their purchases. They will include locally produced foods from locally owned companies and will take rice, flour, coffee, tea, and chocolate as their exemptions.

Karen from Dover, New Hampshire will eat will eat one meal a day of entirely local products. She writes, "I'm thinking coffee should be something I think more about - where my coffee is coming from, and by what trade means it is being obtained."

zephyr squash from New Roots Farm

Marcia from York, Maine shops at local farmers' markets and farm stands for anything that she doesn't grow herself. Her exemptions will be coffee, tea, whole wheat, and rice and she will eat one meal a day completely from within 100 miles of her home.

Jeff & Kate from Exeter, New Hampshire are eating foods from northern New England (NH, ME, MA, VT). "When it comes to processed foods made from non-local ingredients we're trying to buy mostly from NH small businesses. Our goals are just to spend more time thinking about what we eat as well as increasing our knowledge of local food producers and suppliers. We want to make sure that there's not someone right nearby that we should have been buying from all along." Their exemptions will be fair-trade organic coffee.

Randy Warren of Warren Farm, Barrington, NH

Jen from Dover, New Hampshire, "Local means produced within a reasonable travel radius to home. What is reasonable depends on the goods. For food, perhaps within 50 miles. Fresh, local ingredients are ideal, but products made by local businesses with local (preferably) or non-local ingredients are OK too. Eating a meal at a local non-chain restaurant is OK because it's important to support local businesses. For this month, my goal is to eat 50% or more local. When I eat out, I will strive to patronize local business or at least establishments that practice sustainability (such as the UNH dining halls with their cage-free eggs and campus-grown veggies and dairy)." Jen's exemptions will be condiments and olive oil.

"Mamalicious" will "feed my children as much fresh local meat & eggs, raw butter, raw milk, raw cheese & local greens, roots & dried fruits & raw honey as there precious bodies desire, and see what unfolds." Her exemption will be good chocolate.

last updated: January 26, 2008

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