Post-Summer Update

Goldstream Provincial Park

After a few months off I am back and eager to catch everyone up on my summer and new post grad life! I have left my personal bubble of the university that was a safe space filled with like minded individuals. I have found that the rest of the world has a lot of things to catch up to in their ways of thinking about the environment and sustainability, sometimes frustratingly so. Never the less my new home on Vancouver Island has proven to be a bit of a hub of local food loving and conscientious  people. Be it the burgeoning young farmer and agrarians groups or the musicians and yuppies, people seem to generally agree on one thing- Local food is the bomb diggity! While some of us preach the word others are in the trenches building the foundations of our future food system. I salute you fellow foodies and I beg you spread like wildfire across the landscape.

Chickens!

So many exciting things happened this summer, here is a quick run down:

• I eat meat! (post coming soon!)
• Vancouver Island
• Organic Farming
• Chickens! 
• 2 jobs
• Farmers Markets 6 days a week
• Moving (again!)

Hard at Work 

This summer has been the most local loving yet and I had a blast doing it. Though my summer contracts are finishing up and I am looking forward to moving on to new projects in the winter months and a bit of a break in between. 

Stay tuned for the next exciting chapters!

XX Melanie

"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." -George Bernard Shaw

Graduated!

After what felt like 3 very long years, I am finished my undergraduate degree! My time at school has been filled with volunteering, activism, work and a whole lot of learning...most of which I could attribute to outside of the classroom. I learned the most from the activities and work I did with the University Farmers Market, PGPIRG and working with Meal Exchange that will apply to my life outside of school. The fancy piece of paper that I will be paying off for the foreseeable future may not be what I anticipated going into University but the experiences I gained are invaluable and I don't regret for a minute returning to school. For me it was a time of self-discovery that allowed me to explore my interests and build skills. Everyone has a different experience at the end of the day but for me it was the right time and place to continue on this life long learning adventure. Go to school, don't go to school and you can still learn to be a better person, citizen and neighbour to those around you.

Having fast-tracked through a 4-year degree in 3 years time while working multiple jobs and being really involved, I am exhausted. What are you going to do with an Environmental studies degree was the biggest question I asked myself this year. But without missing a beat I packed up my worldly processions, (having given away most of them) and moved down to Vancouver Island. I am relocating to the Nanaimo/Parksville area to work on an organic farm for the summer. After going from a fast pace environment in Toronto, to a busy bee in Prince George I will now be moving at a slower pace in the country side. This presents both challenges and opportunities for me to explore the kind of lifestyle I want to lead and ultimately discover what will allow me to live simply. This area boasts lots of fresh, organic produce, tons of farmers markets, ocean access and a more southern climate. All of these things make me feel like this is the place for me, for the next little while at least.

This transitional time has also been very disruptive to routine and when you travel you are forced to explore communities to find local, sustainable options again. Leaving my comfort zone in Prince George was at first a welcome idea but I already miss knowing where the fair trade coffee is everyday. I also bought my first car, begrudgingly, to move with and drove more in a week than I have in my entire life. I am on a month long vacation and off to Europe to celebrate in the least environmentally way possible by taking a cruise. I will spend the rest of the summer working off my carbon emissions and negating the impact of this month's movement.

These changes will hopefully turn out for the better but only time will tell what is next on this journey for me, work, grad school, life? For now I will continue eating locally, reducing my impact and enjoying life.

Lots of Love,

Melanie XX

"You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your tickets to change the world."  -Tom Brokaw

Guest Blog: Meal Exchange

You can find my guest blog at: MealExchange.com

 
I was born and raised in Ontario in Ottawa and Toronto where concrete jungles were my playgrounds and food came from packages at the grocery store and we hung out at the mall on the weekend. I loved shopping at the farmers market, biking to work and thrift shopping, but these things were money savers and I never considered my greater impact on the world I inhabited. When I was planning on returning to school I knew I was interested in the environment but I never realized that in a few years my entire life would be changed by studying it. I chose UNBC for its small class sizes, geographic location AWAY from home and because it had a Farmers Market that I thought would be fun to be involved with.

I began volunteering with the University Farmers Market and applied for a position as the Development Assistant. I didn't get the job but soon took on the role of Volunteer Coordinator that I was able to apply as an internship towards my degree. In my second year I was voted in as chair of the Market Committee. Now I am the Market Manager, in charge of the market that inspired my interest in food studies. Working at the farmers market provided me with connections to other things happening in the food system and allowed me to understand the bigger picture issues like food insecurity & food justice. 

I started eating local, ethical foods and thinking about my consumer behaviours. I spent an entire year eating only from the farmers market just to test my resolve and solidify my feelings towards food. This wet my appetite for other works surrounding food on campus. I became involved with the PIRG on campus and was hired as the Local Foods Coordinator organizing a monthly good food box  and sourcing local coffee and eggs. I started gardening at home and soon became the PIRG gardener on campus and started a market stand in the garden over the summer to sell fresh produce to the UNBC community.

I was hired as a coordinator with the Campus Food Strategy Project through Meal Exchange in 2014. I now had a network of food activists at my disposal and it was great to connect to something larger than our little campus. This has launched me into a research project on food insecurity that I am just sinking my teeth into. We were also able to start a food recovery program on campus rescuing food from the cafeteria and donating it to meal programs in the community. Since we began we have saved over 2000 lbs. of food and are looking at other strategies to build a campus food bank and expand the program to other campus's across Canada.


Who would have thought this city slicker from Toronto would morph into the die hard foodie she is today. Nearing the end of my degree I begin to worry about who will take my place here on campus. Having taken on so many roles I worry I will not be able to find interested students to continue the work that I have stewarded during my time at UNBC. But I know whoever takes over will have a wealth of information to take on from mine and my predecessors experiences and from the connections of our national network of dedicated students with Meal Exchange.

In good food,

Melanie XX

"Without food, we cannot survive, and that is why issues that affect the food industry are so important. " - Marcus Samuelsson

Life after Locavore

It is interesting to think it has been two months since my local living challenge was completed. What has changed for me since then...not a whole lot. I still do my weekly shopping at the farmers market, still thrifted my Halloween costume and still support local business. The only difference is now I choose to do so out of my own free will instead of needing to for a project.

Cabbage Catch-of-the-Day

The first time I went to order a drink I was struck with the notion I could now order anything I wanted, the power of choice was entirely my own for the first time in a year. I looked at the myriad of drinks on display, read the drink menu and even consulted the bartender for ideas. In the end I ordered the same thing I had been ordering all along, the local beer on tap. For all the choices and freedom I was now experiencing I had something else nagging me at the back of my head...a conscious. I had rather un-deliberately set myself up for a life of conscious decision making.

So what does this mean for my future and the choices I will undoubtedly need to make?

Wild Mushrooms from the Market

When I was entirely local I heard about local ice cream being sold at the 7-11. Locally sourced Ice Cream from a corporate chain was one of those little annoyances I used to abhor, now I weigh the pro's and con's carefully before making my choices. I shop expiring items at the grocery store, yet still have only ventured there twice this year. I browse the local section at Save -On and still buy from producers directly. I make choices based on my values and then feel comfortable with my decisions. and that's what i hope if anything others can learn from this experience. You don't have to bee 100% local to understand why local is important but you do need to act on the values that you preach to others.

So let's live more honestly, make better choices for ourselves and the environment and be authentically ourselves.

Love,

Melanie XX

"You are free to make whatever choice you want, but you are not free from the consequences of the choice." Ezra Taft Benson

A Day in the Life of a Market Manager

Market Twinsies!

One of my jobs, the one I could even say I love the most, is my position as the Market Manager at the University Farmers Market. When I was looking at schools for my undergraduate degree, one of the pulls to the University of Northern British Columbia was access to a farmers market on campus that I had a goal to be involved with in one way or another. In my first year I volunteered every week setting up tables and helping vendors load their goods and became the volunteer coordinator. In year two I was voted in as the chair of the committee and helped with everything from events to wearing a carrot suit when needed. Now in my 3rd and final year I have taken over as the manager and am putting my experience and passion to use every week.

Though the UFM runs Tuesdays from 11-3pm during the school year there are still lots of things happening before market day from organizing special events, to coordinating layouts and finding new vendors. The main event for me is market day. Here is a look at a day in the life of a market manager on a typical market day:

Harvesting in the PGPIRG Garden

7:00- The mad dash begins as I catch the first bus up to the University to begin my day. My first order of business is to get to Campus in time for a quick shot of coffee from Degrees Coffee Co to get me through the busy day ahead.

8:00- As I was also the gardener for the summer, harvest time is still in progress. I arrive at the PGPIRG Garden as early as possible to pick and wash the weeks ripe vegetables to bring to sell at the UFM.

9:00- Set up begins in the NUSC event space that houses our weekly market. I arrive before volunteers and prepare the space for vendors to arrive. Set up may seem similar every week but behind the scenes a complicated game of Tetris is happening with vendors preferred spaces, last minute cancellations and purposeful placement of each type of goods fighting it out with weekly special events for the ideal space.

The Market Before Vendors Arrive

10:00- As volunteers arrives to help we meet vendors at the loading docks and load their goods onto carts. Volunteers then head to the market and I assign them their table for the day.
As I learnt from our first market we need to carefully map out who is using which outlet to make sure we don't lose power, which happens more often then you'd think.

11:00- The Market opens to the public! As eager customers begin to trickle in last minute set up is still going on. There are always a few late arriver's that need a bit of help getting going and I rush around the room to ensure vendors have every thing they need to get through their day, be it small change, an extra chair or even a coffee.

Market Time 

12:00- The rush hour is on and we see a few hundred people through the market during the busy lunch hour. I make sure there is enough change for jams and kale and answer questions to people coming through. As it is my third year at the market there are a lot of familiar faces and I always try to say hello to everyone.

13:00- As the peak traffic time ends a slower paced market atmosphere emerges and more people lounge in the chairs and chat with vendors. I take this opportunity to visit each vendor to collect weekly table fees and do my personal shopping at the same time.

14:00- If it is quiet enough and everything seems to be running smoothly I indulge in a 10 minute back rub from Kathy at Relax-in-chair. A guilty pleasure, which I have never regretted.

15:00- The second the clock strikes three the mad dash for carts to leave begins. Unlike the morning as vendors trickle in over an hour the exit is much more instantaneous. Volunteers struggle to get carts fast enough to meet vendor itching to get back to the farm or pick up their kids.

Crunchette the UFM Mascot

Oh no! We find a cooler with sausages left behind by a vendor and call them straight away to let them know we have them and arranging pick up for the next morning. Sometimes if we are lucky someone leaves a sweet treat for volunteers to thank them for their much needed hard work that day. Other times I buy cookies to show them how much we love having them around!

16:00- Accounting is finished and we deposit revenues for the day at finance before they close at 16:30. Clean up finishes and we make it so it looks like the market had never happened.

17:00- At the end of a busy day I am always thankful the Thirsty Moose Pub is our neighbour (and another job of mine). Once everything is tidied and the last of the tables are taken down I grab a chair at the bar and sip a local brew to finish out the day.


As you can see it is a busy day full of challenges and there is never a dull moment. It is a happy place to work, a place full of good food, homemade crafts and lovely people. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

See you on Tuesday,

Melanie

"What makes the farmers market such a special place is that you're actually creating community around food." -Bryant Terry

How to Go Local in 1 Week

Thinking that making the switch to buying local is difficult? Think again! Here is how to go local in just one short week:

At the SGU Dome Greenhouse at UNBC

Day 1: Look at what you have at home.

Go through what you already have in your cupboards and evaluate where things are sourced from. Maybe you will notice those Hardbite chips you love are already locally produced or the that your organic butter is local too! Realizing what you have that is local will help you see how far (or not so far) you have to go!

Day 2: Shopping day

When going through your usual grocery store take stock of the local produce section, bulk or local sections that you may not have noticed before. Every item you pick up you can check where it comes from, a side effect of being a locavore is knowing what is in your food and where all of it comes from. There are apps that can help with this (10 food apps) and can help you identify where a product comes from and what company produced it. I would start by looking for products produced in your country and then narrow it down as much as you can to your region. 

Day 3: Find the local business's near you. 

You favourite spot could already be a local business and source local ingredients, if not you could explore what other options exist in your communities. Here in Prince George I am lucky because the cool bar in town, Nancy O's, also happens to be a local one and likes to source locally when possible. Say so long to the Walton's of Wal-Mart and the Billes at Canadian Tire and make the choice to visit small independently owned retailers. Switch to quality over convenience. Support families not corporations.  Put money into your neighbours pockets. 

Day 4: Find a Farmer

You can visit a Farmers Market, join a CSA or visit a farm stand to discover what produce is available right now in your community. Do a Google search or ask around at your farmers market to for more places you can go. 

CSA box from Hope Farm

Day 5: Grow Food

Be apart of the movement of people learning to grow their own food and take back the ability to create %100 local meals. Save money, learn about your food, be healthy, get a tan, sounds pretty good to me. 

Day 6: Thrift it

I am in the process of downsizing again before I move but it is a good idea to go through the things you don't need and do a little bit of a life cleanse. Then you can take everything you don't want and sell it on Kijiji.ca or Facebook or donate it to a local thrift store. Find your new favourite shops in town and learn that you don't really need to buy new as often as you'd think. Buying used clothes is essential to the local lifestyle unless you happen to be a seamstress who makes everything themselves  (that would be pretty rad).

Day 7: Be a Locavore

Now that you have become aware of your buying power you can be more diligent in your consumerism (hopefully consuming less all around!) You will be conscious of the purchases you make and weigh the values of local and seasonality like a pro.

Have a lovely local day,

Melanie XX

"...small individual actions can insight larger patterns of change." - Patterns of Awareness, Patternity.org 

3 Typical Locavore Dinners

You only eat local? Wow you must be starving, how can you find enough to eat! Well here is a taste of what I eat for dinner and where it comes from. Being local is more delicious than you can imagine!

Dinner 1: When it's too hot to cook

Homemade Vanilla Maple Sun Tea (Check my Recipe page!)

• Green Tea, from the free shelf at UNBC
• Vanilla, from the free shelf
• Maple Syrup, I brought back from the ByWard Market in Ottawa last summer

Prince George version of Caprese salad with:

• Basil, from my garden
• Cherrie Tomatoes from HSH Grocery
• Avalon Sharp Cheddar from Ave Maria's
• Balsamic vinegar & Olive oil, found on the free shelf
• Bread from the Farmers Market with Avalon Butter from Ave Maria's

Dessert

• Northern Haskap Ice Cream! From Frozen Paddle Ice Creamery a new vendor at the Prince George Farmers Market
• Orange, left behind by Couchsurfers

Dinner 2: When friends are coming over

This meal was created by the ingredients from the Hope Farm CSA box.

• Balsamic roast vegetables (made with Kale stems, beats & leaves, kohlrabi leaves), 
• Pizza with carrot & radish top pesto (Recipe), Pizza crust from the farmers market. 
• Potato salad
• Radish & Kohlrabi carpaccio (Recipe) 
• Fresh salad rolls with an Avocado left behind from more Couchsurfers

We used everything from root to tip! Thank you Hope Farm!

Dinner 3: When you harvest from your garden

This year I have a plot up at the PGPIRG Sustainable Learning garden at UNBC.  So sometimes dinner is what I bring home from the garden and make delicious! 
Garden Salad:

• Lettuce
• Kale
• Cucumber
• Tomato
• Basil
• Salted Sunflower seeds from Wilson Square Market 
• Balsamic vinegar from the free shelf for dressing

Cheers to great dinners and even greater company!
XX Melanie 

"Nobody trusts the industrial food system to give them good food." - Joel Salatin 

Beautiful Bernadette

I have a confession to make...I, Melanie Anderson, am in love! She is young, fit and takes me out whenever I want. She's good to me, carries my groceries for me and supports me in everything I do. She's a hot ticket, whenever we are out together I get compliments on my arm candy. We go to work together every morning, racing ourselves up the hill and challenging ourselves to always be better, faster, stronger.

Bernie (that's what I call her) and I go to the Farmers Market every weekend without fail. She is pretty dependable that way. She's a little heavy but I tell her not to sweat it, I like her just the way she is. We love being outside together and cruising around town whenever we can. When no one else is around, I can count on her to be my constant companion. She takes me places I've never been before. 

She's got a wide rear end, I joke with her that "baby got back', but she doesn't mind me saying so. For Bike to Work Week we biked 100 km together! She helps me get up the University hill every morning, always being very patient as I struggle along.

I wipe her down every weekend, making sure she is well lubed and looking spiffy....In case you haven't deciphered, Bernadette is my new bike!

Together we help reduce my impact on the environment by lowering carbon emissions. She also helps me get into shape, how can I resist riding such an attractive specimen? She has shown me the difference a quality bike makes and helps me be a better biker. One day I'd like to take her on longer trips, but we are working our way up to it.

Love,

Melanie & Bernie XX

"Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile." - Franklin P. Jones

How I Paid Off my Credit Cards by Going Local

Today was a good day. Today I paid off the last dollar on my last credit card, a card that has carried a balance since I got it in 2008. I made a goal this year of paying off ½ of my credit card hoping the sacrifices I was making as a Locavore would pay off. And it did! In 10 months I have paid off my entire card!

I got my first credit card on my 18th Birthday to book plane tickets to Ireland. By the time I left on the trip I had maxed it out. The next year, I applied for a second credit card with another bank...and then a third, low interest card. These cards funded important causes like the Melanie goes to the Dominic Republic fund,  Melanie moves to Europe foundation and the all important Coach purse investments. That's when the eye opener hit me, I had accumulated over $10,000 in credit card debt. Any money I saved I used to travel thus the cycle of debt continued and my balance has remained quite high since. Until now.

Here are some of the ways going local has helped me reduce my debt and maybe how it can help you: 

• Buy less
• Reducing your overall consumption is the best possible way to go and that means keeping more $$$ for other things. Those impulse buys like Starbucks and Target are off the table when you only shop local. I still get treats from the market though ;) 
• Buy better
• Better quality purchases have cut down on my cost of replacing items over and over again. Spending a little more money on things that are hand made or from local business's pays off when it lasts 10x longer then the Wal-Mart equivalent. 
• Make your passion work for you
• I have been so lucky to find work doing the things I am interested and passionate about. Managing the University Farmers Markets means I get paid to be where I love which is also where I shop and get to know lovely people. 
• Freegan it up
• I have been pretty active in collecting food waste when I find it and over time this adds up to savings on my grocery bill. I would say nearly ½ of my diet has been food that would other wise have gone in the garbage. I have also foraged for wild foods ( Going Wild) and grown my own produce to help save. 
• Credit Union



Notankers.ca

• Switching banks has helped me save even more money (Putting your money where your mouth is), I switched to a local credit union and don't pay fee's for storing my money now. Integris has been helpful in my personal life as well as housing business accounts for my work and helping me save money as a student. 
• Travel
• Instead of buying flights I spent money exploring beautiful British Columbia this year. I saved again when I used Couchsurfing and AirBnB for my accommodation instead of booking into a corporate hotel. 
• Biking
• If you drive or take the bus to get around, biking will help save you money on transportation. This is year I've biked my legs off and see the benefits on my wallet and my waist line. 
• Healthier
• Eating better food and being more active has also made me healthier. I don't use any medications anymore including my asthma inhaler and even shy away from Tylenol for headaches choosing natural remedies and keeping my money away from grubby pharmaceutical companies and in savings. 

I have become a better spender now, and learnt that I want to live within my means and ultimately be debt free. In 3 years of University I will have a whole new set of debt to worry about and I am just grateful that now I can focus on debt from my education and be free from my big scary credit card, forever! 

Happy spending,

Melanie XX

"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy local, and that's kind of the same." -Unknown 

How Locavores Will Save The Planet

This is my entry for the World Environment Day Blogging competition #wedblog2015, share to help me win!

When I go out for food I skip the grocery stores with aisles full of plastic and artificial additives and opt for the Farmer's Market.  When I need new pants I head away from the billboard ads and lit up store fronts and head towards the thrift stores in search of the perfect pair.  And when I need to get somewhere I bike passed the gas stations and truck stops and pedal my way to self sufficiency.  Why would I do that? Because I am a Locavore.

A Locavore is a person who lives and acts by consciously supporting the local economy, building community and being healthy all along the way.  We are the people who read labels to find out where things come from, ask questions about how products and foods are made, and choose local before any other alternative.  Being a Locavore is a sustainable choice for one to make that helps reduce our impact on the environment instead of mainstream consumer lifestyles that abuse it.  While western culture has shifted to a 'don't ask don't tell' model of buying products and food with no idea to how it was produced or where it came from, Locavores take the time to investigate these questions and make more ethical purchasing decisions.

Right now, I am nearly eight months into a year long Locavore project where I have not purchased anything from out side of my province.  I buy clothes from the thrift store, food from the farmer's market, and bike to get around.  By making these switches I have reduced my dependency on fossil fuels and subsequently my footprint.  Products that are bought and sold locally reduce transportation impacts associated with global supply chains. Also, by shopping only from local business I am ensuring that the money I spend goes towards families and neighbours instead of corporations. We also promote the economy by offering jobs and supporting community projects.  By eating locally sourced foods I am reconnecting with my roots and learning about what is native to my bioregion.  My food does not come pre-packaged, doesn't contain ingredients I can't pronounce, and is always fresh.

Locavores create less waste, have a smaller carbon footprint, and are overall more ethical consumers.  If our population continues to rise we will soon have more consumers than ever before.  If more of us were able to begin thinking about consumption and take the steps to improve our behaviours, then it may be possible for us to share this planet.  All around, the Locavore 'diet' or lifestyle is about reconnecting with nature and discovering how people lived years ago that effected their planet less then we do now.  If we continue to consume without thought to our repercussions then the temperatures will continue to rise, forests will continue to disappear, and mutated crops will continue to grow.  All of this will lead to a bleak future for subsequent generations if we continue on the path of blind consumption.

It may seem daunting to give up that half-fat mocha and designer purse for the sake of someone else's survival, but it is entirely possible to live well and be apart of the global economy and live within our means. At the end of the day it will be those little changes in consumer behaviours that will go a long way in changing the world.

Have a lovely day,

Melanie


"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

10 things only a Locavore can understand

Lot's of people struggle with fitting time to cook and shop into their busy schedules. Cut out the convenience of a grocery store and the ease of ready made foods and you are a little closer to some of the struggles that I and others who endeavour to live local face on a daily basis. Here are 10 things that living as a locavore I have come to understand:

Small bills are my fav!

1. $$ Cash $$
• I always carry lots of cash now as most places I shop are market stalls. I actually like eyeing my money and being able to budget better this way but I run out of cash all the time.
2. Local booze!!!!
• When I discovered Red Neck Rye, a BC whisky at the liquor store I thought I had died and gone to heaven! The first few months of this journey I drank a lot of BC beer as I had not yet discovered the beauty that is BC spirits. The difficulty I still have with this is finding the right mix, for instance the only locally made Soda I know of is from Cariboo and they only have Ginger-ale and Root beer, thus my go to as of late has been Rye and Ginger's a la local. 
3. Why isn't the farmers market open everyday? 

• Only buying local products by shopping from local business's gets tricky during the week when you have a busy schedule. The University Farmer's Market is every Tuesday and we are lucky enough to have the Prince George Farmers Market on Saturdays so it isn't too hard to stock up twice a week but if you miss one or the other sometimes you go a day eating just potatoes...
4. The thrill of finding a new local product
• When Home Sweet Home brings in a new type of cheese or a long forgotten favourite (like Tomatoes!!!!!) you have no idea how excited I get! 
5. Taking care of things...you might not be able to find its replacement
• I am very nice to my stuff, I have been mending a lot of cloths, I take shoes to the cobbler and treat things better. Making your stuff last longer saves so much money and the planet. 
6. Insatiable food cravings

• Sometimes I crave mayonnaise...It's weird because it's not like I used a lot of the stuff before this year but not being able to have a jar on stand by sometimes makes me crazy. I also crave foods that are out of season like broccoli and lettuce that are harder to find here. (Would die for an avocado!)
7. Learning to say no is really hard
• Want to grab midnight Denny's? Want to hit the Mall? Go to a movie? Saying no sometimes feels very limiting. 
8. Food prep times
• Every Sunday I cook a few meals so I will have food during the week. What I find is when you are buying a lot of raw foods you inevitable take on more food preparation time as a result. Taking the time to make food instead of having everything ready for you is both a challenge and a change but a great way to know exactly what it is you are eating.
9. Living in constant fear of cheating 
• Sometimes I have dreams about shopping at the mall and then needing to return everything because it wasn't local...When I was sick in February I bought a bag of Fishermen Friends by accident.
10. Rationing

• At the beginning of the year my cupboards were full of the usual necessities, flour, sugar baking soda. These things that I have committed to not purchase this year have become very dear to me....I just ran out of sugar... for the year!  Replacing it with local honey is fine, its just an adjustment. So I have become more careful about sharing things, I need to be able to get through the week, the month, and the year and may only have a limited amount of certain things like olive oil or sugar.  

I hope this doesn't sound like complaining as to be quite honest, I am loving every minute of this but am hoping that through the struggles the benefits will be so much sweeter. 

XX Melanie

"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want." -Anna Lappe

Local for the Holidays

The Green Team

This is the Christmas I couldn't go home because I couldn't purchase a flight and when I didn't go shopping on boxing day. It is the Christmas I didn't put up a tree and the time I didn't send anything as I didn't want to use mail. This is also the Christmas I spent with the loveliest of people in the best of places. Instead of a flight home I found friends to share rides and open their doors to me. Instead of buying in to the holiday sales, I hit the thrift stores for my sweet deals. Instead of a tree I bought a hand made wreath from my friends and crafters at Natural Wreaths. And instead of buying gifts I made cards and purchased micro-loans for my family to be able to 're-gift' to someone who needed it more (through Kiva.org). Overall being local this holiday season did not make me feel as if I was missing out but allowed me to be more connected with the things and people that matter most to me.

Christmas with the Kehler's

 After two weeks away we came home to an empty house, and an empty fridge. We stopped shopping the week before we left in an attempt to not waste anything we had already bought. This meant when we got back we hadn't been shopping in over three weeks. What do you do when you come home to an empty fridge? Usually you go to the nearest grocery store, even stop at the corner store and maybe order take out from any number of popular brand names on your speed dial. But imagine they were all gone. That's what we did this time, instead of filling my fridge right back up the day we got back to Prince George we had to wait until our local grocer's would re-open and the next farmers market, a week away. In my fridge I had:
-1 purple cabbage, that upon peeling off the first few layers was still good inside despite being 2 months old
- an onion
- 4 sprouting potatoes
- 2 wrinkly apples
- eggs that I had to individually test in water to check they were still alright to consume.

Hope, BC

That and the various canned goods (mainly pickled) and condiments in my fridge were what I planned to get through the week with. Angela baked some homemade millet bread with flower she got as a Christmas present from very considerate friends and together we created a meal with what we had that turned out pretty good if I do say so my self. I can say that I have had quite a bit of cabbage this week but at this point I need to resign myself to the fact that I will most likely be eating cabbage all winter and should just get used to it. The home made chutney's, jams and pickles that I have really add to the basic ingredients and make them more edible (like the PG enchilada's I just made with, you guessed it, more cabbage!)
After hitting the farmers market and Home Sweet Home this week I have a few more things in my fridge like cheese and butter and carrots but those staples of potatoes and cabbage are still going to be around for months... and months so time to keep experimenting!

-24 in Prince George 

This is also the year I toasted New Years with newly discovered local spirits ;) After week's of holidays it is finally time to return to school and work and the daily grind they ensue. Living even locally, rests for no one!

Happy Holidays,

Melanie

"An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make a better soup." H.L. Mencken

What I ate for dinner this week

Just to prove I don't live off of Kale and carrots, this week I kept track of my dinners to show you all how delicious local really is. After all, eating local is not about eating less good food but about eating more good food.

Monday- Spaghetti Squash with tomato and peppers, here is the recipe

Monday 

• BC spaghetti squash that I got in my Good Food Box last week. 
• Peppers I got from Marlin Spikes Organics at the PG Farmers Market a few weeks ago 
• Tomatoes Sauce, a can that I reclaimed from the trash having been past the best before date (it tasted fine to me) 
• I skipped on the cheese and used whatever spices I had in my cupboard 

Tuesday

Tuesday- A had a late night at school so I made a quick egg sandwich at 10pm when I got home. 

• Egg- Purchased from PG PIRG who orders in free run farm fresh eggs weekly. 
• Bread- from Brenda's Bread at the University Farmers Market
• Goat Cheese- free from a friend who was away for a few weeks and had to get rid of food in his fridge 
• Sweet Relish- from Tuppy's that was at the Studio Fair at UNBC (that I am obsessed with, I wish I bought more!)

Wednesday

Wednesday- Soup & Salad at the Thirsty Moose Pub

• Tomato Basil soup made in house
• Spring Salad- Lettuce sourced from the SGU Dome Greenhouse on campus (can hardly get more local then that!)
• Garlic Toast
• A hand full of those sweet potato fries from the top of the photo
• PWB Canterbury Lager

Thursday- Eggs scramble and toast

• Eggs with more peppers and green onions from the Good Food Box
• Toast with bread from the University Farmers Market



Friday

• Red Pepper Jelly from Bertha Miller at the University Farmers Market

Friday- Leftover spaghetti squash from Monday and Leftover mashed potatoes with Mushroom gravy from Sunday 

• Potatoes come from Cariboo Growers in Prince George
• I made mushroom gravy from an expired can of mushrooms I saved from the trash
• Lot's and lot's of Cariboo beers at the SGU Electro-Swing Pub night at the Thirsty Moose 

Saturday

Saturday- Veggie Burger and Salad at Nancy O's 

• They make the best almond based veggie patty in house, any of the toppings are delicious but I had the truffle burger with brie cheese, died! 
• Side salad uses greens from the local aquaponics 

Sunday- Rutabaga Fries (recipe here) & Veg-Potato Hash

Sunday

• Rutabaga from a friends garden
• Potatoes from Cariboo Growers with onions, peppers, garlic and dried basil from my own garden. 
• I also pre-cooked potatoes and lots of extra Rutabaga fries for the week so the cycle of leftovers can continue. 

As you will notice from this weeks menu things often repeat like the bread I used, it was the same loaf all week. As I only shop once a week at the University Farmers Market, I need to plan a little a head to ensure I will have enough to last the week. I don't always follow recipe's exactly and heavily substitute with local goodies, reclaimed and expired foods and things that were given to me. As you have seen eating local not only feels good but is good for your wallet and tastes delicious! So get out there and see what you can incorporate into your dinner this week. 

In good food,

Melanie

"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are." - Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

1 month down, 11 to go!

Handmade Earrings from Clever Twist 

Our first month as locavores is complete and I can safely say it went great! So much love and support was sent our way that the transition was seamless. September was a great month to be a living local in Prince George with harvest time, fun events and farmers market goodness. Already our story has been shared on the internet, radio and on t.v much to my shock and amazement. People ask if I am missing out on anything but I feel as if I am in fact gaining a better appreciation of how wonderful eating local really is. Only confession I have is that last week I had a dream I went shopping at the mall and then realized I couldn't buy any of it so had to return everything... what a nightmare! In real life I get my retail therapy shopping at the farmers market like these gems I found at the University Farmers Market last Tuesday.

Looking forward, I still have some old non-perishables in the fridge from eons ago but am now starting to think about what to do when they run out. I wish I would have canned and froze more produce for the winter, but I am confident we can survive (and thrive). Over the summer we had a pickling party with friends and made home made dills and bread and butter pickles. Last week we got some mushrooms from the market and cooked and froze them. My roommate brought some beautiful apples up from her families house on Salt Spring Island (and goat cheese yum!) that we have been eating everyday and made some delicious apple sauce for canning. I also froze the 10 lbs of peaches I bought at Home Sweet Home for peachy goodness in the winter time. My roommates call me a squirrel because I have stashes of food everywhere but again one of the little tricks that will make living locally easier outside of the harvest months with just a little planning and foresight.

We were so inspired today by David Suzuki, J.B Mackinnon (author of 100 Mile Diet) and Utcha Sawayers (Food Share) during a virtual classroom on Hungry for Change as part of the Blue Dot Tour. (If you haven't already got your tickets the Blue Dot Tour is in PG Nov 1st) Talking about food security and the importance of organic, local food with students from across the country was so reaffirming that what we are doing is valid and important to share. Together we watched the film Island Green about organic farming in PEI, can you imagine an entire province going organic?

In good food,

Melanie

"For me the most important thing is to think of the Earth as our mother, not the motherlode." -David Suzuki

Temptation Alley

I didn't take a sip!

Being local on the weekends can definitely be easier then during the week at times. You have time to cook, be with friends and visit markets. However the weekend can also lead to many temptations and my first real test at how committed I would be to this personal challenge. Drinking appears to be my kryptonite,  a few weeks ago I was an avid vodka drinker and I am still fighting with urges to order it everywhere I go. The other day at a bar with friends I mentioned how much I missed my go to Blueberry vodka soda and before I knew it someone had bought me one. Now typically my rule has been I can accept gifts though I cannot make requests, I felt that by planting that thought I had indirectly asked for this drink....so I resisted it. That may seem incredibly trivial in the grand scheme of things but it was really hard for me to say no to that drink and a great personal feat. I sipped on my Growers Pear Cider from the Okanagan and carried on with my night, in the end I had a great time once I got over the slight adjustment to my drinking habits.

No ice cream for me!

Another time I was tested this weekend was when all of my friends decided to grab ice cream after a long hot day of volunteering at the compost site at UNBC. Now I realize this is a personal choice so do not pity me for choosing my own plight, but it was a little tough to say no to that too. The idea of self deprecation for this challenge is not the end goal. I am not trying to make my life miserable or deny myself from eating good food. I guess it just comes down to my definition of good food and what I want to eat will be evolving this year and focusing on all the wonderful things I can do and eat is becoming more important to me as I navigate the world of local living.

Fried green tomatoes, smashed potatoes,
maple roasted carrots and yellow beans. 

Dinner with friends

With the bounty from last weeks farmers' market I made a delicious meal (if I do say so myself) for my friends and get to eat its leftovers all week for lunch. Enjoying friends, and celebrating the positive choices we make every day towards local, sustainable living are more important than stressing about the things I am missing out on. Because at the end of the day, I am gaining far more then I am missing.

This week I am super stoked for Feast PG from my friends at Home Sweet Home, check out their Facebook page for more info and perhaps I shall see you at some events!!!

To hummus or not to hummus?

Angela and I at the University Farmers Market

So I have finished my last expired can of chickpeas that I had in the cupboard and am now faced with a very serious issue...to hummus or not to hummus? As a vegetarian I love eating it and it adds an import piece of protein to my diet but chickpeas just aren't local are they. Which leads me to my conundrum, I can buy organic chick peas from my local grocers Home Sweet Home but just because I can buy chickpeas locally, should I? On the other hand with the rule that I can eat locally prepared goods I can purchase delicious home-made hummus from them or the farmers market, but neither the raw chickpeas nor the prepared are truly local. How much sense does it make to purchase hummus I could make myself for much cheaper, only because I am not supposed to have the raw ingredients. Does this mean I can't eat hummus this year?


(Side note: here is a recipe for Balsamic Hummus that I am obsessed with! )

These are the types of ethical conversations I have with myself and often talk out with Angela on a near daily basis. I can agree that eating local is a very important part of this local challenge but the other part was to also include local living. If we take that into consideration, supporting local business', restaurants and suppliers would be in direct conflict with local eating ideals. Can I eat sushi that is from a local business even though they do not source locally? Even if I am eating at the most local restaurant in town which to my thinking is Nancy O's, will everything I intake be local?  Most likely not, but definitely better than my other options and the option of cutting any dinning out at all. Therefore from hummus comes the larger questions of what I can eat. I can think it to death and never really find a comfortable position, so for now I am sticking with locally sourced, locally produced and locally made.

Even though I am surprised people know my name , we have still been getting attention this week. Yesterday CKPG News stopped by our University Farmers Market Kickoff event for a chat. And this morning we did a quick little interview with CBC Radio 1 for their harvest series,  check out our conversation here. Thank you again for all the love and support! 


Happy Wednesday, 

Melanie 

"What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action." - Meister Eckhard