I pledged to go local for 40 days. When I came up with the idea, I didn’t prepare nor think of how to execute the strategy.

Confession: I failed. Miserably.

I work outside the city and have a busy schedule.  Trying to buy local produce in months February – March limited me to pretty much apples, mushrooms, and a few other gems.  The scallops I ordered in a restaurant was from Maryland, but I didn’t know which part.  After feeling like a pompous snob, I decided not to request for the waitress to run back to the kitchen to ask for the exact bay or ocean.

Highlights: I did find some delicious Lancaster-made Pequea Valley yogurt, as well as some (more localized) cereal made in New York.  These products were pricier than what I’d typically buy, yet I was happy to sacrifice a few dollars for a smaller carbon footprint.

However, I realized I wasn’t the first one to attempt this locavore mission.  Upon reading “Plenty: One Man, One Woman & a Raucous Year of Eating Locally” by Alisa Smith & JB Mackinnon, I began to realize where I’d failed.  This locavore-friendly book follows a couple in Vancouver who decide to eat within 100 miles of their home for one year.  Luckily, they’re writers full-time (cough: work from home, probably exclusively on this memoir) and are able to spend a full day driving to fishing ports, farmers markets and farms to find local produce, fish & wheat.  Their accounts detail humorous adventures from sorting wheat from mice-shit (literally) after a gluten-free deprivation to hopes of fish dimished after a toxic chemical spill in a local river.  A fight over canning tomatoes symbolizes tense times in their marriage.  Overall, the book is interesting, informative and worth a read.  Now, I will say I avoided foreign wines and drank mostly local beer & vino.  However, I felt defeated. I am Miss Green Philly Blog, dammit.  And I can barely live up to my own expectations?

Regardless of their lifestyle, I found out some quite fascinated info about eating locally which truly inspired me.  For example, a few hundred years ago there were approximately 280 varieties of radishes… and now, we only know of around 40.  The way we grow produce has been produced for the masses, but there’s much more that can be grown locally than we’re aware of.

My recommendation?  Support your local farmers and farmer’s markets.  This isn’t about being flashy or status, but support the ‘little guys’.  I’m quite excited to fully join my first CSA this year (I’ve been nervous about the portions so am splitting with friends, vs. exclusively farmers marketing in the past) with Red Earth Farm CSA.  Research products you can actually buy sourced locally.  From flour to cheeses, the Philadelphia Farm & Food Fest displayed numerous vendors with locally-produced products.  I made a fancy-cheese plate strictly from local cheeses for my brother’s b-day celebration. The more we favor the “little” guys, the more retailers will supply.

Also, grow as much as you can.  I’m proudly watching my spinach, lettuce, herbs & squash every-day, even forcing my BFF to look at my zucchini bud described as “HUGE”.   (It just opened its bud.)  But there’s a lot more our land can handle if you do a little research.  On a sidenote, I’m thisclose to convincing my parents to start a chicken coop in their backyard so we can have a family CSA program with the eggs. 😉 (Note: it’s illegal to have chickens within city limits.)

Readers, what local loves do you have?  Describe your favorite products or experiences in the comments below.

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher