Monday, June 28, 2010

Food Independence Day

What will you be eating on Independence Day this year?

I encourage you to join Kitchen Gardens, International and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) Food and Society Fellows in their goal to educate and encourage all 50 governors and 50 first families to celebrate July 4th with locally sourced and sustainable food and ingredients.

Local food systems are smart and have both health and economic benefits. In addition, supporting foods grown on local farms and gardens is certainly patriotic.

For the second year, Kitchen Gardens International is conducting “Food Independence Day” with a petition asking the nation’s 50 governors and thousands of elected officials to help declare their food independence this week by eating a locally sourced meal on Independence Day.

The petition is accessible via www.FoodIndependenceDay.org and asks elected officials to “Whet our appetites by publishing your planned menu in advance of the holiday. Share your recipes and the names of the local farmers, fisherfolk and food producers whose ingredients you’ll be using.  And, tell us why local food matters to you."

I haven't finalized our menu yet (it's only Monday!), but I am thinking it would be a good day to thaw and grill our last locally grown chicken still in the freezer from last winter to get the freezer empty before finally moving to the farm house along with grilling some garlic scapes with other fresh vegetables like some early zucchini, and of course some kale slaw. There is no local corn on the cob or watermelon yet in Michigan, but we have black raspberries ripening up at our farm that could be used in pie. Can't get more local than that!

Saturday should be a GREAT day to visit your local farmers' market to see what foods you can purchase to declare your own Food Independence Day! Please consider signing the petition (I have) and recommending the petition to your friends, and then let me know what you are planning to eat in your part of the country on Sunday July 4th.

"Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row"

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

1 comment:

Callie Durbrow said...

Declare your own Food Independence Day..I love it! One of the things I love about summer are the Farmers Markets, i love supporting local companies and purchasing yummy fresh foods. A staple this weekend would have to be fruit salad in a carved out watermelon, the holiday wouldn't be complete without one!