Kicking Off the Eat Local, America! Challenge

By Elizabeth Archerd, Member Services Manager

We challenge you, co-op shoppers, to Eat Local from August 1 through 31. It is fun and easy—not to mention delicious. Here is an idea to get you started: Go to www.eatlocalamerica.coop to sign up and follow co-op bloggers from around the nation as they take the challenge.

First timer? The Local Learners level is a pledge to eat five meals a week that include as many local products as you can find.

Experienced local eater? Consider the Leading Locavore level by basing 80% of your diet (four out of every five items or ingredients) on local food for the month.

For the purposes of the Challenge, we count all food produced within the five-state region as "local." If you want to challenge yourself to a tighter definition of "local," go for it!

Go to Customer Service for lists of local menu ideas and a chart that shows what produce is in season in our area. Take one of our Eat Local, America buttons to wear during the challenge (and after). We also track your local buying on every receipt.

Now, what do you get for all this? Primarily, a great month of eating the freshest food around. You also get the knowledge that you are contributing to the well-being of our local economy. Studies consistently show that money spent on local products and at locally-owned businesses stays in a community and cycles around longer than money spent on products or at businesses from outside the region. You help yourself when you help your neighbors.

We invite Wedge members and shoppers to let us know what the challenge was like for you. What were the things you learned, the hardest things to figure out, the most delicious meals? Send your stories to: eatlocal@wedge.coop and put "My eating local story" (or something like it) in the subject line. Depending on how many we get, we'll find a way to share them with the rest of the community, through At the Wedge or www.wedge.coop or something else.