The Local Food Movement

Chicago is a city full of people who love food!  We love to buy it, cook it, eat it and talk about it, so why not get some of it from somewhere close?

The Local Food Movement is an effort towards building a more locally based, self-reliant food economy.  As the Angelic Organics Learning Center website nicely puts it, “most of the food consumed in this country travels an average of 1,500 miles before it reaches our plate. It’s no surprise, then, that a growing number of urban residents want to get closer to the source of their food. Since food is one of our most direct, personal links with the environment, understanding where our food comes from can help us learn how to care for the earth, too.”

The more local the food, the fewer miles it had to travel to get to our plates, which means fewer trains, planes and automobiles needed to transport the food.  The fewer miles food has to travel to get into our mouths, the fewer emissions released, resulting in a smaller carbon footprint.  Plus, we’re getting fresher and riper food, because we’re getting it pretty much right after harvest.

Local food systems are an alternative to the global corporate models, where we the consumer, are separated from the producer, by a middle man (several, actually).  These middle men include processors/manufacturers, shippers and retailers and as the food industry grows, they are increasingly able to control the quality of the food and how it is raised and produced, and most of them have their eye on their bottom line and profit margin; not our well being or the well being of the farmers or the animals.

One easy way to start buying more locally is to start with produce.  Fruits and vegetables are a good way to take advantage of the Midwest’s bounty and a good way of getting in touch with the seasons.  Because “local” could be 5, 10, 15, 20 miles, it’s sometimes hard to define what is local.  Some locavores are knowledgeable and dedicated enough to be able to eat most of their meals made from food that was grown within 100 miles, where some others, have a looser approach to it.

So, whether you are a hardcore locavore (our hats tipped to ya) or a local food novice (our hats tipped to ya), we encourage you to keep looking for the more local option.  We are humble community members passionate about good food encouraging others through information to sprinkle some local food into their diets.  In fact, by spending just $10 or $20 a week on local food can make a difference!  Some studies have shown that up to $0.68 of every dollar spent locally stays in the community.  It is our mission to be one of your information sources for eating local and if you have comments or suggestions on how to make it better, please let us know!

So with that Chicago, let’s eat!

By the way – do you have something to add?  Let us know by visiting the forum or by contacting us!