Eat 40% Local Challenge
If you want to help create a vibrant and secure local food system, taking the Eat 40% Local Challenge is a good place to start!
We define “local” as food that is grown, made, or processed in a six-county area (Benton, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, and Polk). We call this area the Local 6.
Fifty years ago, it was common for people in our community to eat at least 40% of their food from the Local 6 area. But with the growth of our industrial food system, most people eat food that comes from all over the country and the world.
Eating 40% local by 2020 is one of our food goals. Community members can help move us toward that goal by pledging to eat 40% or more of their food from the Local 6 area.
Here’s what YOU can do to help:
- Pledge to Eat 40% Local. Whether you pledge one meal a week or every meal, you can make a difference! Take the pledge now.
- Find out how to make eating locally affordable. Check out our Simply Seasonal recipes.
- Sign up for the Local Food E-Newsletter. We’ll provide you with monthly updates on farmers, seasonal food, events, and organizations devoted to helping you eat local! Sign up for e-news.
- Join our Eat 40% Local – Corvallis Facebook group.
- Learn all you can about eating locally. Some great resources are listed below:
• Local Food E-Newsletters
• Corvallis-Albany Farmers Market
• Local Ingredients by Chris Peterson (her column used to appear in the Corvallis Gazette-Times)
Eating food that is locally produced is one of the most significant actions you can take to help create a sustainable community and a sustainable world.
Local food supports the local economy. When you buy from local farmers and producers, your money stays close to home and is reinvested with businesses and services in our community.- Local food benefits the environment. Purchasing locally grown foods helps maintain farmland and open space in and around Corvallis.
- Local foods promote a safer food supply. The more steps there are between you and your food’s source, the greater the chances are for contamination and disruption of the supply. Food grown in distant locations has potential for food safety issues at harvesting, washing, shipping and distribution.
- Local farmers and producers can tell you how the food was grown or produced.
Buying from local farmers and producers gives you a more direct link to your food. For example, you can ask growers what practices they use to raise and harvest the crops. When you know where your food comes from and who grew or produced it, you can find out a lot more about the food you’re putting into your body.
