More and More Schools Going Local

It's hard to believe that schools are starting to buy locally grown fruits and vegetables, but slowly and surely, some schools are making the big change! Many public schools in Atlanta, Cobb County, Decatur, Gwinnett County are taking part in the Farm to School campaign, in which cafeteria cooks incorporate fresh vegetables and fruits into their meals. This article can tell you a little more.

Also, private schools, like Lovett, are trying to make a change as well. They realize just how much buying locally can help the environment. Students can clearly taste a difference in freshness and they absolutely love it! 

What school will be next?

-Claire

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Today, I started reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. My first reaction, was oh, just another book convincing me to grow locally. But already from the first chapter, I grew a sense of understanding for Ms. Kingsolver and her family. I really respected her beliefs and ideas about growing locally and leaving their old city life behind to move to the rough outskirts of southern Appalachia.. Her story about Malcom, the unaware teenager, opened my eyes and made me realize that we are all Malcoms. We are oblivious to the process of growing the food we eat everyday. As Americans we uphold a certain arrogance about our food. Should we not know what we are eating and how it is made?

I did investigate onto her website where it contained recipes (Sweet potato quesadillas, YUM!), resources to find local food and a seasonal farm tour (a brief summary of the different farming seasons):

http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/index.html 

All in all, I cannot wait to venture more into the book and see what Ms. Kingsolver and her family are about to endure!

Farmers Markets...on wheels!

Are you ever disappointed that you can't always buy local foods simply because you don't live near a farmers market? Well, Farmer's Mobile is here to solve your problems! Even though there are numerous farmers markets throughout the Atlanta area, Charlotte Swancy came up with the brilliant idea of starting a traveling farmers market. The truck simply stops in various locations (parking lots, churches, etc.) and sells their local, delicious food. They sell everything from fresh vegetables and fruits to ribs, bread, and eggs (all local of course). Farmer's Mobile also has a frequently updated Twitter account, so citizens can always know where the truck is.
This new delivery service is a convenient way for many people to start eating locally!

http://www.amateurgastronomer.com/weblog/2011/01/farm-mobile/


-Claire

I want a pet! How about a pet chicken?

The other day I visited my uncle in Newnan, Georgia. He owns about ten acres with two horses,  six dogs, two cats, and a bunch of chickens. Originally, he started with just two dogs and two baby chickens, which he bought for his son and daughter to raise from the egg. Once they were grown up they were the best pets. Yes, I know that sounds weird, but its true and I found a site (http://www.backyardchickens.com/) to prove that!


But not only people who live in rural areas like my uncle can raise chickens, you can too! According to my research, you can raise up to 25 chickens in Atlanta without obtaining a permit!


But you may wonder, why on earth should I raise chickens?
Here are a few reasons, according to BackyardChickens.com:

• Easy and inexpensive to maintain (when compared to most other pets)
• Eggs that are fresh, great-tasting & nutritious
• Chemical-free bug and weed control
• Manufacture the worlds best fertilizer
• Fun & friendly pets with personality (yes, you read that right)

Even after reading this, you may not want to raise your very own pet chicken, but just keep in mind that eggs from family raised chickens are better for you along with the chickens who lay the eggs. But whatever you do, remember eat, buy, be local! -Skye

Another Reason to Love Publix!

Publix may seem like just another national grocery store, but they stand out among competitors. The produce is always fresh and the workers are friendly and helpful. Plus, none of their juices appeared on the lead list that Anna posted like some of Kroger's juices did. Their expanding Greenwise Market makes healthy, organic shopping easier for customers.
The best feature I found on their website was a section called At Season's Peak which informs shoppers about what is actually in season in the store. They provide information that other grocers hide such as where the produce is from. If your favorite fruit isn't in season now, you can sign up to be alerted when it is at its peak! Explore the website to find more great features they provide, including many delicious recipies.
Eat, Buy, Be Local :)
-Melissa

Pick Your Food (like really pick it!)

I have the hippie-est neighbors ever. They eat dinner in a tree house and walk their dogs barefoot and cut their grass with a push reel lawn mower. I also have  the best neighbors ever because every time they go fruit picking they always send a heaping amount of the fruits they picked to me. Especially the time they picked a family record of 41 pounds of blueberries. Think of how fun it would be to have blueberry picking races!
This site site gives dates for seasonal fruits and veggies. Although it's been pretty hot it is not yet picking time, but definitely add it to your list of things to try this summer. Right now collard greens, turnips, peas, and green onions are growing, so buy these things locally.

Apple Juice From China

I’m not a big fan of soda, so instead I drink a lot of juice. A lot. A couple days ago there was no juice at my house. Luckily I found cranberries we froze at Thanksgiving and was able to make cranberry juice, but it made me think about how juice from the store is usually made from concentrates. In fact most juices contain multiple different types of juice concentrates, and almost always juice—no matter what kind—contains apple juice concentrate.

But where does all this apple juice concentrate come from? According to this article: China. 45% of apple juice concentrate in the United States comes from China, but the alarming thing is that China isn’t even allowed to export fresh apples to the United States. Even though they are not allowed into the fresh apple market, China is selling their concentrates at ridiculously low prices (AKA dumping) that US apple concentrate producers cannot compete with. And all those stories of lead poisoning from China? Well, lead is also in our juice according to this list of some tested fruit products that contain more than .005 milligrams of lead.

What can we do about it? Well after reading this post on a fellow cares-about-food blog(explore it—it is really informative), buying local juice is an important thing. This doesn’t mean just juice from Georgia, although we do have a lot of nice apple orchards, but juice that is made in the USA from crops grown in the USA (also look for cane sugar in the ingredients, not high fructose corn syrup!), because by doing this we are supporting the United States economy(and protecting ourselves from lead poisoning). Or you could get a juicer (I asked for one for my birthday, however, my parents did not think it was a serious request…) and make your own from really local fruits and vegetables!