Local Food
Hello!
I hope you are all having a wonderful September afternoon!
As a quick reminder, if you were enjoying shorter showers throughout August, be sure and sign in on the website for August (http://earthdaybook.yolasite.com/monthly-sign-in.php). :)
Ahh September. It represents so many things - the beginning of school, football, the end of summer, and hints of the cool air that lies ahead. One of the most amazing parts of September though is the huge harvest available over the next 30 days. That's right, I am talking about FOOD! Yum!
So this month, let's pledge to support our local farmers by:
Choosing one food (or more) grown by a farm (or garden) near you and prepare it to store for the winter!
While some of us may have a lot of experience with winter food storage, it may be more foreign to the rest of us. I have tried to provide resources and answers to questions below. However if you have experience or resources you would like to share, please email them my direction and I can send them out to everyone.
1) I have never canned or froze local food before. How should I get started?
Alright, the first step for us is to visit the local farmers market, orchard, or farm where you can pick your own produce. Then we can see what's available. Decide on whichever fruit or vegetable you would like to experiment with.
The next step is to decide what to do with that fruit/vegetable. Canning, freezing, sauces, jams, sorbets, ...so many options. Take a look at these website for great ideas and directions: http://www.pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm or http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/index.html
If you would like to make something unusual like peach honey or a unique tomato sauce, I would definitely suggest making a practice batch. Nothing worse that 50 jars of tomato sauce you don't like.
2) What are the environmental benefits to storing local food for the winter?
Where to begin! There are so many. First, let me suggest (if you are very interested in this subject) the book Animal Vegetable Miracle - it is a cleverly written and a very fun read about local food.
The major environmental benefit from local foods is that they are LOCAL... meaning they do not travel from across the world Why is that beneficial? Energy! A grocery store is like an international airport for food. Most even have an international food aisles. Food travelers arrive on the red eye every week and wait for you to provide their departure flight. All this traveling results in literally tons of greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions which then pollute our atmosphere and help keep people like Al Gore on the public speaking train...which also uses ghg emissions, lol.
3) What other benefits are there to eating local foods?
A huge benefit is that you are directly supporting your local economy. By buying local, you can also choose to support smaller and/or organic farms that operate under both more ethically and environmentally sound ground.
There are also health benefits to buying local food. They are obviously not as processed as most boxed or canned food in the grocery store. Using local foods is a great way to cut your sodium intake - many canned grocery store goods are very high in sodium. In addition, if you are concerned about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in your food, it is much easier to ask a farmer and get an honest answer than call the Questions and Comments line.
Another benefit is the potential to connect with other people. You can get to know your local farmers or get a group of people together to chop vegetables for freezing. In addition, many preserved foods make delicious and thoughtful gifts.
4) Are there dangers to food preservation? How do I keep myself from getting sick?
It is very important to consult reliable websites, books, or people if you have never preserved food before. Especially with canning, there are certain sterilization and heating procedures that should be followed to prevent bacterial growth in the food (such as botulism - an invisible but fatal bacteria that can enter the body through improper canning methods). If you are still unsure, find a friend or family member to preserve foods with...if you don't know anyone with experience, I bet there would even be people on this list who would be willing to help. Canning party anyone?
I believe these are the major concerns you may have but if there are more, let me know! :)
I will look forward to hearing about your August shower experiences. Don't forget to send in photos (maybe not in the shower...G rated please), writings, or other art pieces!
Oh, also, since we are about one third through the year since this began, I am hoping to get some feedback on the project from you all. So if you get a link from me in the coming weeks with a survey about the project, please share your input.
Thanks everyone!
