Hello Spring!
The birds are singing, the ground has thawed and green is unfurling itself before our very eyes. Spring is officially here and that means the locally grown food is soon to follow!
Whether in backyard gardens or further away farms, nearby hidden foraging spots (like when I forage for ramps!), under lakes or deep in forests; our local food systems are waking up! This awakening is happening both with spring’s seasonal arrival and a mirrored cultural movement back towards local food.
Two Years Digging In
I’ve been fascinated with the why’s and how’s of the local food movement and its deeper deep roots. This is a huge part of why I started up Forks in the Dirt just over two years ago (Happy Anniversary!)
The food we eat intimately impacts our daily lives, but for decades we’ve moved further and further away from that simple fact. Big business focused on making food more economical while inadvertently minimizing the dire nutritional and ecological implications. This focus was beneficial in some ways, and detrimental in others. Turns out growing food with an end goal of mass production and longest shelf life hurts our collective health, bank accounts and entire eco-system.
High fives all around for us waking up to those realities as a society.
Choose Locally Grown
One of the easiest ways you can ‘be the change’ with our food system is realizing that you vote with your dollars three times a day. The food you buy effects the food chain in so many ways. Here’s an earlier article I wrote that touches more on WHY local food matters: Local Food For Thought.
Think about all the places you can make a choice about the food you eat:
- Who grew the seed that grew your food
- Who owns the land that grew your food
- How many miles did your food travel
- Who tended the land and livestock that became your food
- What chemicals have been added to your food
Answers to those questions are inherently baked into each meal and every snack you eat.
It can get overwhelming fast (another hint that our food system is broken)! But asking yourself just one of these questions a day will get you thinking about how much effort (and who’s effort) goes into each plate you eat.
I think the local food movement is an attempt to make food simple again. A pull to take back some control over what we put into our bodies.
What do you think?
My Local Food Journey So Far
So far I’ve had a winding but fun ride down the local food road.
I started growing more of my own food years ago. Then I got to know a few more farmers that grew food. We raised backyard chickens. I learned how to can, freeze and dry more food. I still buy much of my food from local grocery stores, but I grow my own or buy local when I can. For me its about finding a balance that works for my family.
*Important Reminder*
Everyone’s scales are weighted differently to begin with so there’s no reason to compare!*
I’m in awe of the abundance of the amount and diversity of food right here (like within a 20 mile radius!!) year round. From Deep Winter Greenhouses and Aquaponics providing fresh locally grown food through the dead of winter, to urban farmers changing the way we provide food to our neighbors during the growing season- change is happening, and fast.
Changes coming from places like the North Circle Food Hub, The Good Acre and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA’s) plus more MN Farmers Markets than ever.
Gardening in general is up 200% in the last decade, according to the National Gardening Association annual report. Knowing where your food comes from just feels good.
Growing Hope
I recently attended Schoolyard Garden & Local Food conferences at the MN Landscape Arboretum and the message was loud and clear; Minnesotans are already awake to the food we are eating. There is currently a MN Farm to School Bill being decided in our state legislature, feel free to weigh in on that bill! I can’t wait to see how we collectively work to make our food system work better for us all.
As we head into spring and summer when locally grown food is SO VERY abundant, I encourage you to renew your commitment to: eat more local, healthy foods, grow something you can eat, buy from a local farmer. Get to know some of your food’s roots and see how your relationship to your food changes.
You can call me an urban homesteader, a dreamer, or just someone who puts her time where her mouth is. Any way you slice it, life has been pretty tasty lately. Thanks for digging in with me these last few years!
Looking forward to this season as we keep on digging in and crossing paths with farmers, food and doing good! What will you grow this season?
Michelle
That’s me 😉 I’ll be there with a table to talk growing your own, backyard chickens, composting, canning and/or finding the best local food resources. My mission in getting this winter market together is to help us ALL make healthier, more sustainable food choices- for our own health, and the health of the planet!
I’ve been digging into coordinating this BearPower Harvest Party with the 
