Eat Local campaign starts July 11

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Imagine the supply lines for food shipped to the Olympic Peninsula disrupted, as happened during the pandemic. Now imagine instead a large-scale, vibrant local food system with local farmers producing all the meat, produce, dairy, and grains that we eat daily.  In and around Port Townsend, we have such a system offering healthy food through many venues.

 Port Townsend’s Local 20/20 group  and the Salish Sea Regional Transition Hub are sponsoring the first week of an Eat Local! Campaign starting July 11th. The campaign kicks off with a Zoom discussion exploring why eating locally and seasonally is a good choice. This regional session will be facilitated by local author and innovator, Vicki Robin to discuss the central question: “Why eat local?”  

There are many reasons to eat local, but one important reason is this: to make a local food system a reality the farmers need eaters - that’s all of you out there - committing to purchasing the food shared at our numerous farm stands, CSAs, farmers markets, and grocery stores.

Eating Locally and Seasonally

Wondering how to use our locally grown foods? With the support of the regional Transition Hub, Lopez farmers Henning Sehmsdorf and Elizabeth Simpson recently published Eating Locally and Seasonally, a wonderful guide for cooking and preserving locally grown food. The book can be purchased from Sonja Hammer (sonja@l2020.org} or downloaded for free from the Transition Lopez Island website at (www.transitionlopezisland.org).

Eat Local! Campaign will include three separate weeks this summer. In July we will focus on “Exploring,” on “Sharing,” and September on “Preserving.”  

There will also be Zoom discussions and short videos featuring farmers and local celebrity chefs as well as potlucks and group sessions on food preservation.

Find out more at: www.l2020.org/local-food/eat-local