100 mile diet

[jamie79]

I posted this earlier and it is nowhere to be found, so if it double posts, sorry!

I have a question to all of you locavores out there...

I am trying to implement more of the concept behind this diet/way of thinking into my own life. For example, we get our pastured/organic milk, eggs, and beef all locally (well, within driving distance, anyways). Here is my question:

1) Where do you find local/organic grains?

Thanks,

Jamie

[Ruthla]

No idea. It doesn't seem to hard to find local veggies or animal products, but I've been buying flour and grains shipped in from "wherever" because that's what's available. I have to wonder if it might be better to avoid or minimize grains in the diet, rather than trying to locate a possibly non-existent local source.

Are there any resources on the 100 mile diet website?

What irks me more than anything about aiming for a local diet is that so many of the local food vendors (farmers' markets, dairy farmers, etc) don't accept Food Stamps. And the stores that do accept FS don't always have local produce available.

[jamie79]

Yes, that is incredibly unfair to a large amount of people. Not everyone has loads of money on food, however want to feed their families healthily.

I think you may be onto something about avoiding grains. I know I lose weight when I avoid them. I just like to have some on hand, especially for the kiddies

Jamie

[momma4fun]

Our local farm store grinds us fresh grains everyday but I have no idea where their grains come from!!!

I have ehard that it is simple to grow wheat. I remember reading an article a couple years back and telling myself the first thing I would grow when we bought a house would be amaranth. It's way high in protein and it grows in beautiful long ornamental colored stalks.

I'll have to try some, now that we're buying our first house tomorrow! Thanks for reminding me.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by jamie79

1) Where do you find local/organic grains?

I think this is really going to depend on your area. I can find rice that is "local", but can't really find anything else. There are some areas that might find corn or wheat, but nothing else. There will be areas that can't find anything.

Overall, the avoidance of grains is probably the nutritionally better option. But the pocketbook doesn't always agree. Doing some research into crops grown in your area could help. Inquiring at your local HFS (even by phone) can point you in the right direction. Shopping farmer's markets, getting to know the sellers and inquiring of them. Hitting different farmer's markets to see what the differences in produce and vendors are (I can go to a different one every day of the week except Monday and stay within 10 miles of home). Inquiring at small stores that carry grains (local produce stores, small gourmet stores, local HFS) will often get you further than inquiring at a large HFS like Whole Foods. Chances are good it's going to take some research and leg-work.