Et tu, locavore? - Boomers Tie in to Movement that Promotes Locally-Grown Foods

Et tu, locavore?
Boomers Tie in to Movement that Promotes Locally-Grown Foods
by Monica Surfaro Spigelman (www.tucsoncowgirl.com)
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Have you purchased produce from a local farmers market, enjoyed “fresh seasonal ingredients” in a favorite restaurant meal, or planned a day trip to a local vineyard or orchard for a tasting treat? If so, you’re a budding locavore – part of a growing breed of boomers choosing local foods as part of a more nutritious and sustainable lifestyle.
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The word locavore was coined five years ago by San Francisco foodies including Jessica Prentice, who was one of the foundes the locavores Web site. Back then the locavore concept, in the strictest sense, was meant to describe and promote the practice of eating food harvested from within a 100-mile radius. Today the movement encompasses many dimensions of local foods and culinary experiences. If you haven’t heard about it, you will. Award-winning author Barbara Kingsolver helped put it on the map when she practiced it and wrote about it in her 2007 best seller. In October 2008, NY Times Magazine contributing writer Michael Pollan, in his provocative piece on importance of regional food economies and small farmers, called upon our next president to be Farmer-In-Chief.
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Back to the Land
Local foods, slow foods, farm-to-table – well, it’s all a happening scene now. For me, it started in 1972, when the back-to-the land movement was in full swing.
I was a young journalist attending a conference titled “How to Live Sanely in a Trouble World. Helen and Scott Nearing, Vermont and Maine homesteaders and authors of the 1954 cult classic, The Simple Life, were there, as were many other leaders of the early green revolution. The lively discussion on environment, native American traditions and community place-making projects were fascinating. I was hooked from the beginning. For more than three decades, sustainability and community built with nature, art and culture have been part of my professional and personal life.

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Slow, Not Fast Food
The locavore movement and the trend back to regional sources are in vogue as an outcry against fast foods and mass produced supermarket items which spend more fossil fuel resources in packaging and transportation. Most produce in the US is shipped an average of 1500 miles before being sold. With a large percentage of energy dollars going into the processing, packaging and transportation of the food we eat, it’s no wonder we’re looking local for future, more sustainable food supplies.
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I’m lucky to have several locavore leaders (and boomers) in my desert backyard. One is James Beard award-winning chef Janos Wilder, whose popular Janos Restaurant is a mecca for local culinary adventures. Janos was early to the locavore scene – as chef in the late 1970s of the Colorado’s Gold Hill Inn, he used ingredients from local gardens and farms out of necessity (distributors wouldn’t deliver to the high mountains!) When Janos opened his first restaurant in Tucson in the 1980s, he continued his exploration of regional cuisine and fell in love with Southwest ingredients, including the Prickly Pear cactus fruit and mesquite flour, which he sourced locally for his kitchen. Janos continues to inspire food enthusiasts of all ages with his farm-to-table culinary events. In October, Janos created a feast in honor of Sonoran Region farms, vineyards and breweries. A delicious celebration of community sustainability, local growers participated by sharing their farm bounty, as well as by being the evening’s honored guests.
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Boomer Farmers
It’s interesting to note how many local farmers are boomers. One reason, according to Maryanne Hedrick, owner (and boomer) of the Hudson Valley online virtual famers market www.mypersonalfarmers.com, is because “many local farmers are lifetime farmers just getting older.” Others, according to Yong Rueb, who began her farm about 10 years ago, come to farming mid-life, leaving behind successful careers in order to pursue more holistic and balanced lives. Yong and her husband, John, own Forever Yong Farm in Amado, Arizona.
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The locavore movement is gaining steam. American Public Media’s The Splendid Table (hosted by foodie boomer Lynne Rossetto Kasper) recently concluded a year-long effort to engage its audience in locavore living. Called Locavore Nation, 15 individuals from around the country blogged about their experiences in incorporating local food into their routines.

Virtual Farmers Markets
Locavore groups are cropping up everywhere. One of the best small businesses to start, according to a November 2008 US New and World Report, is an online farmers markets. Hedrick of www.mypersonalfarmers.com indicates these platforms for local farmers, crafters and bloggers also have education as their mission. “We need to inspire other generations to take up the passion to keep family farms going,” she says. Her virtual marketplace offers deliveries of local foods to homes, offices, schools and restaurants, and also is an online source for community, recipes, crafts and other items. Members in the site’s locavore club get discounts and special premiums for participation. Hedrick had a successful career in food marketing before embarking on her virtual farmers market venture.

Top Five Tips to Locavoring
So how can boomers get involved in the locavore table?
1) Look local. Get to know your community’s agriculture, your native foods, local farmers and seasonal harvests. The best place to start is your local farmers market. If you can’t find the listings in your newspaper check out the listing online via the national compendium in Local Harvest.
2) Taste local. Across the USA, local farms offer Community Supported Agriculture produce subscriptions, where buyers receive a weekly or monthly delivery based upon seasonally available farm products. You can find out if your local farms participate by checking your ZIP code in the Local Harvest CSA Directory.
3) Support local. There are many regional organizations focused on strengthening the local economy and supporting local farms, like this one in Western Massachusetts. Or this one in southwest Michigan. Find the one in your area. The Local Harvest or the Slow Foods USA websites are good first-stop resources for you.
4) Learn local. This collective of Vermont locavore talent and enthusiasm has a great resource list to help educate you about this topic. Check out this resource page.
5) Enjoy local. The most important of these 5 tips! Find cultural associations that celebrate native food traditions and participate in their events. Frequent restaurants that support local farms. Challenge them to serve more locally-grown items or to create “locavore” seasonal menus. I’m lucky to have Janos nearby, but you can check on availability of local farm-to-table chefs through your local restaurant or community associations. There are some online resources including Food & Wine Magazine and The Chef’s Collaborative, but your local media will be your best source for what’s locavore in your community!

Remember – the best foods are often the ones closest to you. I had never enjoyed tepary beans or prickly pear syrup until I ventured to the southwest. I wish you many delicious culinary adventures as you explore locavore…and as you help to sustain our planet!

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Other resources:
Good blog by one of the locavore originators: http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/
New York Times article on local food traditions: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/dining/30come.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=renewing+america%27s+food+traditions&st=nyt&oref=slogin
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Future Watch:
The New York Times is revamping its food coverage. Christine Muhlke is the new Food Ed who will write a field report column on “America's food revolutionaries" http://tinyurl.com/9j4qmw
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Editor's Note:
Monica will be joining us periodically with more informative articles on a variety of topics. Stay tuned.