Local Food tastes better, enriches your community, and protects the environment. According to an economic study in London, for every $10 you spend at a local farmer’s market, the community receives $25, whereas for every $10 you spend at a chain supermarket the community receives only $14. According to the Worldwatch Institute, the average food item now travels between 1500 and 2500 miles before we eat it. The average fruit and vegetable travels 2500 – 4000 miles by refrigerated truck or plane before we consume these perishables. The impact of transporting food from farm to table is significant. In 2001 London research showed that forty percent of all truck freight in the UK was dedicated to transporting food. Much of our imported food is food that could be grown in our very own Champlain Valley. Would you help us raise awareness of global and local food issues?

What if you only consumed food grown, harvested, and processed within a 100 miles of your home during the month of August 2006? You could discover more about your local farms and meet some new people. You would eat Vermont grains (wheat, oat, rye, corn), local legumes, dairy, egg, meats, blueberries, vegetables, and any other local harvests we may find. Please consider joining us for the Vermont Eat Local Challenge. Check it out at www.eatlocalvt.org.