Challenge of the Day 2011

Below are the daily mini-challenges that Locavore Challengers received each day of the September 2011 Locavore Challenge. 
Taking the challenge on your own? Use these for inspiration and ideas for becoming a locavore!

Day 1: Good morning Locavores!  It’s Thursday, September 1st and today we start our local foods journey together.  Thank you again for committing to support local sustainable farms and in turn helping to recreate a healthy local food system in NY state.  We are thrilled to have each of you with us on this journey.  Good luck to you today as you make a conscious shift (or re-focus) to eating foods from local and sustainable sources.  Registrations are pouring in, but we still have a long way to reach our goal of 5,000 Locavores.  So, encourage your friends and family to join you as you take the challenge this September. 

Locavore Challenge Support:

Each day we will email all registrants a small note (like this one) with recipes, tips and suggestions for the day.  But please also follow along with us

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/nofanewyork

On Twitter: www.twitter.com/nofany

And on our Locavore Blog: http://newyorklocavorechallenge.wordpress.com/

We also want to hear from you! Please email us what you are doing, recipe successes, interesting stories, pictures and more! And if you are blogging make sure you send us the link so that we can follow along and post it to our blog.

Day 2: Ahhhhh, the weekend! I hope that you all enjoy Day 3 or the Locavore Challenge! To those who just joined yesterday-welcome aboard!  We are taking registrations all month long so please keep recruiting your friends and family to join you as you take the challenge this September. 

Shop at a Farmers Market, Farm Stand or U-Pick
It may seem like a no brainer, but shopping at your local Farmers’ Market, Farm Stand and/or visiting a U-Pick farm is the heart of the Locavore Challenge.  We hope you visit more than just once this month, and more than just during the month of September.   More than anything our farmers need the support of their patrons, so make visiting a regular affair.  As far as habits go-shopping at your local market or farm stand is a great one to have! 

Day 3 & 4: Welcome to Day 4 Locavores!  Hopefully you are getting into a local foods groove now.  Make sure you send us links to your blogs, send us recipes, questions and ideas.  We want to hear how you are doing!

Cook with Local Oils, Grains, Meats and Cheeses
Most people are accustomed to eating local fruits and vegetables during the season and during the month of September.  Most in-season produce is very easily found at local farmers’ markets and farm stands.  But local oils, grains, meats, and dairy products are sometimes a little harder to find-but when you do they are well worth the effort!  We are going to be blogging about our hunt for these things later today, but visit your local markets and co-ops and ask them where you can find these items.

Day 5: Happy Labor Day and Day 5 of the Locavore Challenge!  We hope you have a wonderful holiday with your friends and family.
Read a Locavore Book
Today is a little gloomy-at least in the Rochester area, which makes me more inclined to pick up a book and cuddle on the couch all day instead of barbeque on this Labor Day holiday.  Whether you pick up a book today or another day this month, we encourage you to check out our list of Locavore Booksand read up on why the Good Food Movement can really change the world.  And if you are really into this idea, we would encourage you to host a book discussion with a group of your friends and help expose more people to this important issue.

Day 6: Join the Millions Against Monsanto Campaign
Help our Locavore Challenge partners, the Organic Consumers Association campaign for mandatory labeling on Genetically Modified foods.  They are aiming to have 1 Million people sign their petition: http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/action.cfmas well as have thousands of people show up to rally across the country on October 16th.  Sign the petition, plan to attend a rally and become informed on this important issue.

Day 7: Like NOFA-NY on Facebook and/or Follow NOFANY on Twitter
I’m always up for a challenge, but it’s a rainy Wednesday and just like all of you I am feeling busy and scattered.  So, today’s challenge is an easy one.  If you haven’t already go to: https://www.facebook.com/nofanewyork  and LIKE us on Facebook and/or go to www.twitter.com/nofanyand follow us there.  If social media is not your thing, how about signing up to receive our blog?  You can find our blog and links to other locavore blogs: http://newyorklocavorechallenge.wordpress.com/  

It’s not just that we want friends (because we do!), it’s that we want to help keep you informed of important issues in the organic farming and good food movements.  We promise, we post good stuff!

Day 8: Donate to the Farmer Education Fund
When we originally conceived this mini-challenge, it was to bring attention to the fact that farmers are in need, and NOFA-NY’s Farmer Education Fund helps to provide educational and technical assistance to both beginning and seasoned organic farmers year-round.  We hope that you will consider making a donation to this important cause.  http://www.nofany.org/give/donate-now

But as August came to a close, farms across eastern NY experienced devastating losses as a result of Hurricane Irene.  NOFA-NY’s partner organizations and friends are raising funds to directly support farms that have been impacted.  We encourage you to make a donation to one of these funds, either instead of or in addition to donating to NOFA-NY.

Donate to Denison and Kilpatrick Family Farms
http://fromscratchclub.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/fundraiser-for-denison-farm-kilpatrick-family-farm/

Donate to GROW NYC's Campaign

https://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=1004280&code=001

Donate to Regional Farm and Food Project's Campaign

http://www.causes.com/causes/632299-support-local-farms-damaged-by-hurricane-irene?m=39e5fe47&causes_ref=uhura_email

Day 9: Host a Potluck Across NY Potluck on Sept. 25th
On a single evening in September (Sunday, September 25th) groups of people will gather over potlucks across the wide state of NY, from Niagara Falls to the tip of Long Island, breaking (local, organic) bread together.  These groups share a common interest in their concern over the current state of the US food system and a commitment to consuming food grown from local organic farms. We hope to eventually have potluck gatherings in each of NY’s 62 counties, and have thousands of individuals making this stance together, while remaining in their home communities.

NOFA-NY is seeking assistance for similarly minded community organizations, NOFA-NY chapters, CSA’s, schools or religious institutions to host a potluck in their community room or home.  By hosting a potluck you are helping the NY Locavore Challenge initiative reach new ground and facilitate community celebrations of our local bounty.  Email your interest to Lea@nofany.org to become a Potluck Host today!

Day 10: Attend a Locavore Event
Have you seen the list of events happening all across the state this month? It amazing.  Pick one, two or more events to attend this September and show your support for local farmers and artisans while having a great time.  For a full list of events see our calendar:  http://www.nofany.org/events/ny-locavore-challenge/locavore-events-calendar

Day 11:Join a Food Co-op
Sunday, is usually shopping day in my household, so I thought a Sunday would be a great day to post this challenge: Join a Food Co-op. 

I shop fairly regularly at Abundance Co-ophere in Rochester, and when I travel I enjoy visiting the Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany, Lexington Food Co-opin Buffalo, Greenstar Food Co-op in Ithaca and of course the famous Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn.   We also have a new co-op member, still operating as a food buying club, but looking to expand to a full store, the Sustainable Sea Cliff Cooperative

Food co-ops are generally owned by their members, carry a higher percentage of natural and organic foods, as well as encourage member input, volunteering and democratic control.  If you have never been to a food co-op, please try it out! And if you are a regular co-op shopper but have not become a member please do so now!

Day 12: Host a Locavore Book Discussion
Have you been reading a great book on our Locavore Book List?  Consider hosting a book discussion with friends or colleagues to share your thoughts and create a plan to take action.

Day 13: Take Action Against Hydrofracking!
Today, September 13th, Food & Water Watch and allies across the country are holding a call-in day to President Obama to demand that he ban fracking. In New York, they’re also generating calls to Governor Cuomo.  These calls are critical to influencing Obama and Cuomo to reject fracking in the Delaware River Basin, as well as to build support for a fracking ban in New York.

If you are interested in taking action to stop fracking please call TODAY!

• White House: 866-586-4069
• Democratic National Committee: 866-942-5138 (White House backup number)
• Governor Cuomo: 866-961-3208

More info available here:  http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/blogs/five-reasons-to-call-president-obama-to-ban-fracking-on-september-13/

Day 14: Become a Member of NOFA-NY
It’s worth mentioning again! NOFA-NY will be running a New Member Drive the entire month of September.  Through the end of September for just $10!  (This special rate is only available to new Consumer of Gardener members and is for a limited time only).  Sign up online at: http://tinyurl.com/nofadriveand as you check-out enter the Discount Code: Locavore-2011

Day 15: Take the $5 Challenge
Our friends and partners Slow Food USA are adding another challenge to the mix.  Try out the Slow Food $5 challenge this Saturday.  Make a complete Slow Food Meal for no more than $5 per person.  Kick it up a notch and make it with all local and organic as well, or show the naysayers that can do it for even less.  You can sign-up to officially participate on the 17th here.  Please share your meal ideas and total price tags with us!

Day 16:What better way to celebrate the weekend and take a stab at a locavore mini-challenge than to have someone else prepare a Locavore meal for you? Every day, more and more restaurants are incorporating locally-sourced ingredients into their menus. A great way to find out which restaurants are doing this is with the new Farmshed 2.0mobile app (which you can also access on your PC). With this app, you can search, browse, and locate hundreds of restaurants, as well as local farms, farmers markets, and CSAs in NY State. I just found out that there are over 10 of these restaurants within 30 miles of my zipcode- and believe me, I live in the middle of nowhere!

Day 17 & 18: Composting your organic waste is a great way to cut down on the amount of garbage you send to the landfill.  And, by composting your kitchen scraps (and yard trimmings) you can create rich, nutritious soil for your garden and lawn. Here, you can find more information about composting, and step-by-step instructions for starting a compost pile in your own back yard! See our blog post today at www.newyorklocavorechallenge.wordpress.comas well for more info.

Day 19: Speak With Your School about Local Sourcing
It is just as important for schools to incorporate fresh, local produce into their menus as it is for parents to do so at home. In fact, a recent studyby the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center shows that not only do school lunches influence a child’s weight and nutrition, but they also influence a child’s eating general eating habits. Sourcing fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms can help schools insure that the influence their lunches are having on children is a positive one. Contact your school districts’ Coordinator of Food Services to speak about local food sourcing today! Check out other programs for ideas and tips like: Food Corps, Farm to School, and Sustainable Table

Day 20: Grow an Indoor Herb Garden
How much more local can you get than your own kitchen? As long as there is adequate sunlight, moving your outdoor herb garden indoors, or starting a new one inside during the winter, is an easy and inexpensive way to make fresh herbs available year-round. In fact, with the right preparations herbs can grow just as well indoors and take up no more of your time than a regular houseplant. For more information about growing an indoor herb garden, click here.

Day 21: Try Food Preservation
Preserving local produce from your garden, CSA, or a local farmers market is a great way to extend your locavore diet into the colder months ahead. Based on your preferences and ingredients, there are many ways you can preserve food, including canning, freezing, drying, vacuum sealing, and more. Information and step-by-step directions can be found at the following sites:

http://www.preservefood.com/ (PreserveFood.com)
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/ (National Center for Home Food Preservation)

Day 22:  Blog about Your Challenge Experience (and send us the link!)
Throughout the month of September, our staff has been posting their experiences with the challenge on the NY Locavore Challenge Blog. Today we encourage to join in on the conversation by submitting a guest post (which we will feature on our blog), or writing about your experience on your own blog (which we will link to on our blog). Write about your successes, mishaps, recipes, thoughts, and opinions. Include pictures if you like! E-mail your blog post or a link to your blog to lea@nofany.org.

And remember, you can always join in the conversation by commenting on our blog.

Day 23: Sip on Local Milk, Juice, Beer, Wine & Spirits
It’s Friday! Celebrate by heading out to a restaurant that serves local beer, wine, & spirits.  Or, search for locally produced milk or juices at a farm stand or famers market nearby. Check out the NOFA-NY online directory, or the new Farmshed 2.0 mobile app (which you can also access on your PC). With this app, you can search, browse, and locate hundreds of restaurants, as well as local farms, farmers markets, and CSAs in NY State.

Day 24: Attend a Locavore Potluck Tomorrow (Sept. 25th)!

September 25th is the date of the statewide ‘Potluck Across NY’ where people throughout New York State will be coming together in various locations to eat local food and celebrate their successes throughout the Localvore Challenge. For details about the potluck closest to you, click here.

http://www.nofany.org/events/regional-events/potluck-across-ny

Day 25: Plant a Cover Crop in Your Garden     

Cover crops contribute to a healthy garden in a number of ways, such as aerating the soil, adding nutrients to it, and feeding beneficial soil critters. They can be planted in rotation or intermingled with food crops, and then turned into the soil or cut and left as mulch on the soil surface. Check out this factsheet by the Cornell University Garden Ecology Project for more information.

Day 26:  Join a Winter CSA

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a fantastic way to incorporate healthy, local foods into your diet. In CSA, farmers offer shares of their produce to buyers, who receive a box of seasonal produce at a set interval throughout the farming season. Learn more and find a CSA near you:

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ (localharvest.org, info and directory)
http://www.farmshedcny.com/ (Directory of CSAs in NY)
http://www.nofany.org/directory (Directory of CSAs in NY)

Day 27:  Swap Sugar for Local Honey & Maple Syrup
Visit your local farmers markets and co-ops and ask where you can find local Honey & Maple Syrup, or search online for a producer near you. And don’t restrict these products to your pancakes and tea! Honey and Maple Syrup can be substituted for sugar in baking recipes, sauces, and glazes. Learn how to do so for healthier, more flavorful cooking.

Day 28: Take a 250 Mile Day Challenge
The month is almost over, so now is your chance to get in one more day of eating totally locally- if you haven’t been doing so all along.  Also, we want to take this opportunity to thank you again for committing to support local sustainable farms and in turn helping to recreate a healthy local food system in NY State!

Day 29: Eat (at least) 5 Servings of Local, Organic Fruit & Veggies
Like yesterday, we are encouraging you to eat locally, as we are in the homestretch of localvore month! Today, make sure you get at least 5 servings of local, organic fruits and veggies into your diet! Fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that help keep you in good health and protect you from chronic diseases. For a variety of nutrients, and make sure you eat lots of different colored fruits and vegetables, and try something you haven’t tried before! I tried spaghetti squash for the first time yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the taste and was happy to learn that it contains about 42 calories per cup (about a quarter of the calories in an equivalent amount of pasta after which it is named).

Day 30: Congratulations! We have completed the 2nd NY Locavore Challenge. It is a bittersweet moment as I write you the last of our daily emails.  Thank you for reading, not reading, unsubscribing or losing my emails to your junk mail filter every day. J

We are still receiving some final registrations, donations and memberships as a result of the challenge, but overall we estimate that approximately 1,400 people participated in the challenge, either by registering for the full challenge or attending events and potlucks.  While shy of our public goal of 5,000 people, this number is more than 10 times the number of people who participated last year! We owe much of this success to our wonderful partners and sponsors.  More than 40 local, state and national organizations partnered with us on events, publicity and potlucks and more than 25 sponsors provided financial support to allow the challenge to be offered free to participants.  If you have not visited our list of partners and sponsors I urge you to now: 

http://www.nofany.org/events/ny-locavore-challenge/our-sponsors
http://www.nofany.org/events/ny-locavore-challenge/our-partners