10 local food resolutions for 2018

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 12/29, 2017 at 09:21 AM

1. Become a Friends & Farmers Coop member, and help them as they work toward two important goals: 1) Reaching 800 owner-members to be able to sign a lease agreement for a location, and 2) having 1,300 owner-members by the time the doors open for business. You can help them reach their goals by joining.

2. Try at least one new local food product a week. This can be a new vegetable variety, a new sauce, a new dairy product, etc. You can find months and months’ worth of local products at your average farmers market, for example.

3. Give organic gardening a try. This can be growing herbs on your window sill, starting an outdoor garden, or going full organic in your present garden.

4. Get involved in issues important to local food producers. Try finding out what issues make your favorite local food producer worry, and offer to help. That leads to the next resolution…

5. Meet a new local food producer a month. The cool thing about local food is you can not only meet the person who grew your food, but the person who made your favorite prepared food. For example, ever wonder how apple butter is made? Ask the person selling it at the farmers market!

6. Support local food at the supermarket. If you see a local product being sold at an area supermarket, buy it! You can also lobby your local supermarket to sell more locally grown produce.

7. Cut down on waste by preserving extra food. Do some research on great recipes for leftovers, or if you overbought at the farmers market, consider freezing or canning the extra.

8. Attend a local food event in 2018. Here at Local Food Journey, we tell you about all sorts of local food-focused events in posts like Local Food Notes. Support them by making a point of attending at least one a month.

9. Cook globally with local ingredients. If you are ever feeling like you are running out of cooking ideas, or aren’t sure what to do with that weird vegetable in your CSA box, why not do some research and try your hand at cooking something with an international flair? For example, there are literally dozens of regional styles of Mexican cooking that are waiting for you to explore.

10. Introduce someone to local food. This can be as easy as hosting an all-local dinner party, or taking a young relative along to the farmers market. You can also make a habit of praising local food producers on social media. Spreading the word is a great way to strengthen our local food scene.

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