Supporting local food is pretty darn easy in Santa Barbara where we have year-round farmer's markets. It takes a little planning. since the market hours are limited, and selection limited by what is in season. There's an awesome website, Local Harvest, with a national directory of farms, markets, and co-ops that sell local foods. Unfortunately, it's still easier to stroll out of Trader Joe's with a plastic box of tomatoes from Chile.
Awareness and education have a tough battle to fight against convenience. Most of us aren't used to planning our meal around what's in season--we plan our meals based on what we're in the mood for. I just don't get "in the mood for" kale, though I know it's good for me and blah, blah, blah. But maybe it's time to get over that.
As to Patrick's question below, I think food activism begins at home, but needs to grow from there. There's a lot our local government can do to help (or hurt), but that's another entry.
We hope that by this time next year will be growing more than half of our food at the ranch. In addition to delicious salads, oranges, and tangerines, we'll have canned and dried tomatoes of our own, plus fresh broccoli, avocados, nuts, and maybe even some kale.
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2 comments:
Hey, I responded more fully (as it were) to your post in "The Perils of Alternative Piety, or It's Not Easy Being Green."
Try cavolo nero, if you don't like kale. Good olive oil and a TBS of butter. Minced shallot. Cook that kale down.
It's also good with a splash of chicken stock that cooks in/off, but I know that doesn't work for you fish-a-tarians.
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