I've signed up for the Eat Local Challenge

I signed up today for the Eat Local Challenge. As mentioned in a previous post,

The traditional Eat Local Challenge is a basic concept: commit to eating only locally grown foods for a period of thirty days. Declare "exceptions" that you will not be eating locally, and try as hard as you can to have everything else come from your local foodshed. "Local" is traditionally a 150-mile distance from your home, but can really be defined as any area near you. Some locavores choose their county, state, or region.

I'll be using that basic plan, but I will be out of town for eight days during the month (my home is in Mobile AL) and I know I won't be able to eat a strictly local diet while I'm gone. I am going to try to eat something local every day during the trip. I'm also not going to hold the rest of my family to the challenge. My husband will pretty much have to for meals at home, but my daughter's picky three year old eating habits would be sorely tried. I'm sure we'll all be much happier if she can continue to have her peanut butter, bananas, and avocados.

My list of exceptions, pretty much the standard with one big caveat:

• cooking oils (olive is our primary oil, then canola, and a small amount of sesame)
• spices, including salt
• yeast leavening, including yeast, baking powder, and baking soda
• tea for me, coffee for my husband
• wheat flour. This is a big one, but I'm excepting this because baking is a big part of our family cuisine.

I have to admit, I'm a little less than prepared. My garden won't be bursting with beans and greens on October 1st (at this point I have pole beans well on their way, arugula seedlings, and some brassica starts, and oh yeah, plenty of jalapenos). I don't have a summer's worth of fruits and vegetables stocked away, canned and frozen. And while I have a list of foods I think I'll be able to get, and where I can get them from, I haven't confirmed everything yet. I have what might be called a vague plan.

My husband and I have talked, and our concerns are, firstly, expense. He's worried that our local diet will be more expensive than our current one; I'm not so sure. I think it may prove more expensive, but not by a huge amount. It's possible it may even be less expensive, given that the number of things we'll be able to buy will be limited. The second issue is time and effort consumed in pursuit of local ingredients. With a toddler and already-busy schedules, we're both worried that excursions to buy local may be too taxing (not to mention costly, given the price of gas). I also dislike the idea of personally driving 150 miles for my food because it's inefficient, and while it may be possible to make that effort for a month, it's not realistic to sustain over the course of a year. I'm more interested in what's possible for the average person in our area.

I look forward to doing more planning, and to reporting back on how the challenge goes.