What is the Eat Local Challenge?
It’s a personal challenge not a contest. The Eat Local Challenge sets aside a special time each fall to be more conscious about what we eat. It’s about learning where our food comes from, as well as finding and enjoying more local food. It’s about making small changes because we know over time all our small buying and eating changes will have a big impact on our bodies, our communities, and our environment.
Eat Local Milwaukee – the first two weeks of September
Ours is one of many local challenges. The Eat Local Milwaukee Challenge began in 2007 when the Friends of Real Food, an Urban Ecology Center interest group, decided to act on what they learned about the benefits of local food. They challenged themselves to eat as much local food as possible for one week. Finding great pleasure in knowing the story of the food on their plates, many participants were encouraged to continue eating local food all year long.
Since then, the Challenge has grown to include local restaurants and partner organizations. In 2009, the Milwaukee Eat Local Challenge began with a Resource Fair at the Center and ended with a Celebration at the Fondy Farmers Market. A new web site was launched—www.EatLocalMilwaukee.org-- full of resources for locavores.
Eat Local Resource Fair at the Urban Ecology Center
Eat Local Challenge takes place during the first two weeks in September! The Center, Outpost, Slow Food WISE, Eat Local Milwaukee, MKE Foodies and other organizations help you get geared up for this Challenge at this fun and informative event. Attend workshops and talks about how you can eat more locally and why it is important to you, our community and the environment. Also gather resources about buying and eating local food, exchange recipes and much more!
Saturday, August 25th, 2012
Free - donations appreciated
Why choose local food?
Many people grew up with a family garden or now have a garden that supplements their meals. Aside from these vegetables, we might not think often about where or how our food is produced. Yet our globalized world makes it possible for rice from across the world to accompany the green beans from our backyard. Our globalized food system makes it possible for us to eat food without knowing who grew it, how it was produced or where it even came from.
Eating foods produced locally is one way to be a more informed and conscientious consumer. Buying local foods allows you to build relationships with growers and producers whom you trust. In addition, buying local protects the environment. Local foods don’t travel long distances to our dinner table, don’t require as much processing and packaging, require less fuel to transport and they taste better!
Spending your dollar on local food means more of your money stays in the local economy, helping to build and strengthen a healthy community. Choosing local food means caring about what we put into our bodies, where it comes from and how it is produced.
Our local challenge’s web site is full of resources- –why eat local, how to find local food, menus & recipes. In the late summer there will be news of this year’s events. To learn more about the Eat Local Milwaukee Challenge, visit www.EatLocalMilwaukee.org
