Locally Grown

An article in boston.com caught my eye the other day. It was “Nine finds in New England” and one of the “finds” related to buying locally grown products:

There’s nothing more satisfying than doing good by eating well. Whenever you’re traveling in New England, resolve to patronize restaurants that support local growers, fishermen, foragers, cheesemakers, bakers, and beekeepers. New England chefs have been in the vanguard of the ‘‘locavore’’ movement that nurtures sustainable agriculture and fisheries while providing the best possible food with the smallest carbon footprint. Some parts of New England make it easy to find these local boosters. Berkshire Grown (www.berkshiregrown.org) lists more than 50 restaurants. (The Red Lion Inn, for example, serves a locavore ‘‘sustainable menu’’ on Sunday and Monday nights.) Vermont Fresh (www.vermontfresh.net) lists more than 100 restaurants that support Green Mountain State producers. They include the Farmers Diner in Quechee (www.farmersdiner.com), which devotes 65 cents of every dollar to buying food produced within 70 miles. New Hampshire is just getting organized; check the sponsors list for Seacoast Eat Local (www.seacoasteatlocal.com) for a few restaurants. You can browse for options throughout New England by checking the website of Chefs Collaborative (www.chefscollaborative.org), an organization that celebrates local foods and works to foster a more sustainable food supply. Click on ‘‘local food search,’’ highlight restaurants, and put in the location you want to search.
(Text : David Lyon/Globe Correspondent)

This idea, or movement, has been getting a lot of attention lately, so I thought I would do my part to support the movement especially since there are so many fresh products produced here in Central Massachusetts. Some other websites worth checking are:
http://www.nofamass.org/programs/ofg/index.php/
http://www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/farmers_markets.htm
and perhaps my favorite, www.localharvest.org.
It’s probably not the best time of the year to start trying to become a locavore, but it is a good time to stay inside and read up on a new idea or investigate restaurants you might visit on an upcoming vacation.