Join the Eat Local Celebration August 1st - 31st

By Elizabeth Archerd, Member Services Manager

Get out your cookbooks and take the canning jars out of storage - peak harvest season is upon us. Along with co-ops across the country, the Wedge is hosting "Eat Local, America!" again this summer, inviting our members to focus on eating more local foods from August 1 - 31. Help us celebrate foods grown and produced in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.

"Eat Local, America!" is a great way to engage with food growers and producers in the region. We encourage participants to set goals for themselves, whether that means eating one meal a week made with local foods or trying to eat 100% local foods. We define "local" as food grown in Minnesota and its border states, but maybe you want to define it differently. However you prefer, we hope you'll challenge yourself to think creatively about the foods you eat throughout our harvest season.

This is also a great time to take advantage of classes on home food preservation. Suzanne Driessen, of the University of Minnesota Food Safety Extension, will teach about the basics of home canning on Tuesday, August 17. She will also teach the essentials of successfully freezing food for later use on Thursday, September 9. Both will be held in the Wedge Classroom.

Why Eat Local?

The Wedge cultivates relationships with area growers and producers both to support local farmers and to provide the best possible products for our shoppers. Local foods are fresher, taste better and typically retain more nutrients by traveling faster from field to plate rather than spending days or weeks in shipping.

Each region has a unique variety of products available during the peak harvest season. Eating local foods supports biodiversity and local food producers. In addition, eating local food helps stimulate the local economy, as dollars spent on local foods support our neighbors. Local business keeps wages and taxes in the community, which in turn supports other local businesses. It's a beautiful cycle of economic life and, best of all, we can help support it just by eating fabulous food.

Food lovers can learn about all participating "Eat Local, America!" co-ops and initiatives at www.eatlocalamerica.coop.

Happy eating!