Step 2: Discover Your Local Foods

Local Foods Research

Joselyn McDonald

Introduction 

In order to know what ingredients are grown within 100 miles (160 km) of your home, you'll need to do a little bit of research. There are multiple ways to learn about locally grown foods. The internet can be a good place to start - wherever you are in the world, city and regional agriculture websites are very useful for understanding what foods are grown or produced in your area. If you live within 100 miles of a river or the sea, you might investigate what fresh fish and seafood are available. If you're here in Scotland, you might find this calendar of seasonal local produce helpful. 

Alternatively, you can visit a local farmer's market and see what local farmers are selling, which can be a fun weekend activity with family or friends. You might also try your local butcher, fishmonger or greengrocer to see what produce they source locally. Even supermarkets now provide a lot of information about where their foods come from, so you can often find out which meats, cheeses, fruit, vegetables, and eggs are from local farmers. 

All the above sources should be able to tell you about the farming, growing or production techniques, so you can find foods that are produced sustainably and ethically.

Instructions

In this step of the Challenge, you will research foods that are grown or produced locally to start a list of possible ingredients for your local dish. Use the guidance above to help you conduct your research. Once you have completed it, it's time to generate a list of 10 or more local food items. The more local food items you discover, the more options you'll have for creating an exciting new local dish. 

Record Your Work

Create a list of 10+ local food items and write 2 sentences on how you conducted your research on local foods (e.g. online, at a farmer's market, interviewing the local fishmonger, browsing the supermarket). 

Again, keep this work as you will submit it at the end of the project.


>> Proceed to Step 3.

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