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2009-11-21

2009-11-18

2009-11-05

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Friday, July 24, 2009 10:11 PM

ASK A PROFESSIONAL: Why buy local food?

By LINDA BROWN, Ask A Professional

The average bite of food on your dinner plate last night traveled more than 1,500 miles from where it was grown.

Unless you were having dinner with Ottawa residents Elliot and Teresa Sutherland, that is. Their food traveled no further than 200 miles — most of it a whole lot less than that.

The Sutherlands are practicing locavores.

Wait ... practicing what?

Just as beings that eat meat are carnivores, and a herbivore is one who eats plants, a locavore is a person who eats only locally grown and produced food.

Elliot Sutherland, photographer at The Ottawa Herald, said he and his wife had a desire to eat healthier.

“We were concerned for our own health and wanted to eat fresh food, rather than processed,” he said. “We’ve only been at this for two weeks, but so far it’s working out pretty good.”

The Sutherlands’ goal is to eat at least one meal a day that consists of locally grown or locally produced foods and ingredients. They’re sharing their successes and frustrations on Facebook through an online group, “Locavore Challenge.”

“We were having a little trouble finding a variety, like pork and flour,” Sutherland said. “But now when we run into trouble we put it up on Facebook and people are helping us. Like last week I needed a recipe to make mayonnaise. I got a pretty quick response. It was the same with trying to find locally grown poultry.”

The Sutherlands are likely to get even more help starting Monday when videos of their locavore challenge start appearing on The Herald’s Web site.

The first video will be filmed this weekend at Ottawa’s Country Mart, 2138 S. Princeton Circle Dr.

Gary Jones, the store’s owner/manager, said he has long been a proponent of supporting local farmers and growers.

“Our customers requested the fresh fruits and vegetables, and we were happy to meet those requests,” Jones said. “It satisfies them and helps the local farmers.”

Watermelon, cantaloupe and pumpkins come from Douglas Bush in Melvern.

Chester Fredricks, of Williamsburg, supplies corn on the cob, cantaloupe and cucumbers.

Kos and Dianna Jarrell, of LeLoup, supply the store with apples. Peaches and tomatoes come from Frank Gieringer in Edgerton.

Candy-flavored popcorn and unpopped corn are supplied by Schlaegels Homegrown Popcorn in Whiting.

“There are so many,” Jones said. “Fanestil meat products are produced in Emporia. Our Naturewell beef comes from Dodge City, and we have barbecue sauces from Paola that sell very well.”

Jones said he agreed to help the Sutherlands with their locavore challenge because it makes sense.

“It helps the local economy,” he said. “The local farmers and growers don’t have to truck it out of state, and we don’t have to truck it in. That lessens the dependence on fossil fuels.

“The food is fresher as well. The corn is usually picked the same day we receive it. You can’t get much fresher than that.”

Sutherland said his locavore challenge videos will feature different food shopping experiences and recipes.

“We’ll try to share all the aspects of the challenge on the videos, so folks can learn right along with us,” he said.

Starting Monday, the videos may be viewed on The Herald Web site, www.ottawaherald.com , or Facebook.

There also will be a link to the videos on the Country Mart Web site.

Linda Brown is marketing director for The Ottawa Herald. E-mail her at lbrown@ottawaherald.com.

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ASK A PROFESSIONAL: Why buy local food?

By LINDA BROWN, Ask A Professional

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article | Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article |
Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.