Charleston Eat Local Challenge

Eating and shopping locally have become important issues to the American consumer lately as people have become more aware of their carbon footprint and its impact on the environment. When it comes to food, it’s said that our food travels an average of 1,500 miles before it reaches our plates, which is a really long way to go, considering how many farms exist in SC & that the state is only about 260 miles long.

In an effort to get people to become more aware of where their food is coming from, Lowcountry Local First has declared the month of April “Eat Local Month” and is is asking everyone to sign up for the “Eat Local Challenge,” which starts April 1. Here are the basics of the challenge:

• Participants pledge to shift $10 or more of their weekly food spending towards our local food system.
• Anyone can participate. Sign-up as an individual or get your friends & co-workers involved and take the challenge as a team.
• Participation is FREE. All you have to do is commit to shifting $10 from your current food budget to local food options (local = as close to home as possible and within the state of South Carolina).

Easy peasy! All you have to do is sign up for the challenge here. All participants in the challenge will receive:

• A welcome email with tips and suggestions for the Challenge.
• Full access to the Eat Local Challenge Facebook group, which will include recipes, tips & tricks, information regarding discounts and local food options at participating businesses.
• Weekly emails with challenge resources and featured recipes.
• Information regarding all Eat Local events and happenings and invites to the April Mixer, Eat Local Challenge Tweet-up, and the Finale event.
• Our Farm-Fresh Food Guide.
• Our Eat Local Challenge: Making the Shift Scorecard (download the guide to your computer to edit live), our Eat Local Challenge: Local Habits Scorecard (download the guide to your computer to edit live) and our Eat Local Challenge Social Media Package with Facebook & Twitter headers & Instagram graphics to encourage your friends & followers to take the challenge with you.

You may or may not know that I recently moved to Johns Island, one of those little gems on the coast of South Carolina that features a number of local farms, as well as roadside produce stands and the weekly farmers market. Since moving out here, I’ve really been trying to keep my produce purchases as local as possible and I’ve been taking advantage of the great options available to me out here, as well as those downtown (like the Veggie Bin).

I hope you’ll join the eat local challenge, and I invite you to follow along with me as I catalog my experiences, recipes, and anecdotes along the way. Feel free to tweet at me or comment with recipe ideas and ways you’re planning on eating local in April!