The Belfast Co-op—along with co-sponsors Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, the Belfast Free Library, the Green Sanctuary Committee of the UU Church in Belfast, and WERU Community Radio—invite you to take stock of late winter’s local bounty and join us in our 6th Eat Local Challenge.

Twice a year, during our Eat Local Challenges, the Belfast Co-op collaborates with other community organizations to bring the importance of locally grown food to the forefront. Last November we partnered with Maine Farmland Trust whose mission is to preserve Maine’s rapidly decreasing farmland. This March we are partnering with MOFGA, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, in order to highlight the ecological benefits of small, local & organic farms. MOFGA’s mission is to “…help farmers and gardeners: grow organic food, fiber and other crops; protect the environment; recycle natural resources; increase local food production; support rural communities; and illuminate for consumers the connection between healthful food and environmentally sound farming practices.” To find out more about MOFGA visit their website at http://www.mofga.org/.

For our March Challenge, we encourage your participation in one of three ways: educate yourself on the impact of your food choices on our environment, boost the local economy by spending $15/wk on local food, and celebrate the Eat Local Challenge with local food and entertainment.

On March 9^th, Jean English will talk with us on how to get our organic gardens going for the season; her talk will encourage us to not only improve our personal food security by “growing our own” but also provide pointers on how to do so without synthetic and chemical fertilizers or pest control that can have damaging environmental and personal health consequences.

On March 23rd the “Big River Harvest Tour” will be coming to Belfast. Join us for a screening of the short version of “King Corn” and its sequel “Big River” along with a discussion led by Heather Spalding of MOFGA about the connections between agriculture and the health of our environment. Resources are also available throughout the store and on our website to provoke thoughtful contemplation on this topic.

Participants can also challenge themselves to boost our local economy by spending $15 a week on locally-grown foods. Participants of previous Challenges may notice that we’ve upped the ante on participation for this March by $5. All customers who spend $15 on 100% Maine-grown products during a shopping trip will be eligible to enter a raffle for a local foods gift basket valued at $100 and chock full of delicious offerings. In order to encourage participation in the Challenge, the Co-op will be placing a number of qualifying items on sale during the month of March; look for more info about what is local and on-sale by picking up a sales flyer at any one of the front registers. If you are stumped about what to cook with what’s available this time of year, you can visit our recipe board at the end of aisle 2 for at least 15 ideas.

And finally, join us on March 24th for our Eat Local Challenge Celebration. Since our previous late winter Challenge in March 2009, the Co-op has been working to quantify the impact that the growth of the local foods movement is making on our community. We’ve been tracking our weekly sales of 100% Maine-grown products, and, with community input, have conducted a thorough inventory of the necessary elements, both existing and needed, to support a sustainable local foods economy. The celebration will provide us with an opportunity to reflect and measure the substance of what our community has accomplished in previous challenges, and look forward to the new opportunities and avenues for participation.

In addition, along with the traditional local food potluck there will be a Locavore Variety Show. All are welcome to bring a song to share, a poem to read or some other inspiration around local food. We want to encourage you to think outside the box. Just stick with the theme, “local entertainment about locally grown food.”  The celebration will take place from 5pm to 8pm at the UU Church in Belfast and all are welcome to attend. Donations will be accepted to benefit MOFGA.

Look for more information about the Eat Local Challenge at our website as of March 1st, www.belfast.coop. You can also visit our blog for recipes, local food resources and tips and tricks, www.belfast.coop/blog/.

“Kilowatt Ours”
Film showing on January 26 at 6:30 pm, Belfast Free Library

“The Transition Handbook” written by Rob Hopkins
Discussion on Feb. 3, 10, 24 and maybe Mar. 3, 6:30-8:00 pm, Belfast Free Library
Facilitated by Douglas R. Fox, Dir. of Center for Sustainability and Global Change at Unity College.
VIDEO of Rob Hopkins describing his book.

Those interested in signing up for the discussion series, may do so at the Co-op or by calling the Co-op at 338-2532, or call Brenda Harrington at the Belfast Free Library, 338-3884 ext 30.  Books are available for purchase at the Co-op at a discount for discussion participants. You may also check out a copy through the library system while supplies last.

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“The Transition Handbook, from Oil Dependency to Local Resilience” by  Rob Hopkins is a book that is creating a stir in this country, the UK, and Europe. The Belfast Co-op and Belfast Free Library are teaming up to offer a Community Book Discussion series around this book, to begin in February 2010.

The series will kick off on January 26 at 6:30 pm with a short introduction of the Transition Culture concept by Jim Merkel & Susan Cutting (who have attended Transition Culture Trainings) and the showing of the documentary film “Kilowatt Ours: a Plan to Re-Energize America” at the Belfast Free Library.

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A brainstorming session with approximately 30 participants of the March 2009 Eat Local Celebration in Belfast, ME, was aimed at gathering information about what residents feel they need in the area to develop a secure local food system. Erica Buswell who is on the management team at the Belfast Co-op Store facilitated the session.

Belfast is the hotbed of Local Food Activity. We are doing things in isolated packets all around the State. How can we bring projects together and help to create a viable local food system. The following is a list of what we have for a local food system and what we need. It is not a complete list but is the beginning of trying to identify a just and secure local food system.

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It isn’t just the miles your food traveled that is relevant for reducing our level of CO2 in the environment. What we choose to eat is also important. The Belfast Co-op and the Belfast 350 Committee have compiled articles and resources to provide the basis for a community resource of information on Food Choices and Climate Change.

Your comments and contributions are welcome.

Topics in the news:

Copenhagen re-cap:

Only the numbers count—and they add up to hell on earth by Bill McKibben, 16 Dec 2009

Meat-Eating and Climate Change

Organics and Climate Change

The Organic Revolution, How do we Stop Global Warming?

Resources:

Cooperatives Addressing the Climate Threat

Cool Foods Newsletter

350.org

CommonDreams.org

Think long-term: Think about when different produce  will become available and make a plan for how you can process or store various fruits and vegetables when they will be at peak of their flavor and ripeness.

Dry it, freeze it, can it or ferment it. There are many ways that you can “put by” or store produce when it is in season so that it will be available to you year round.  If you aren’t familiar with these techniques, maybe now is the time to learn.  Both MOFGA and the UMaine Co-operative Extension offer workshops on food preservation, or you can find how-to materials at your local library.

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Simple acts can have big consequences. To celebrate Earth Day, we have put together a list of 10 Ways to Eat as if the Earth Mattered:

Start with those changes easy to work into your life, or challenge yourself to adopt all ten. Either way you’ll be making a choices that benefit our one and only planet.

1. Organic food. By choosing to eat organically, you can reduce the number of harmful pesticides and chemicals that get applied to our food, fiber, and animal feed crops, which means these chemicals stay out of our soils, out of our water supply, out of our air, out of our food, and off of our farmers.
2. Local food. Local foods (foods grown or produced close to your home) don’t have to travel as far to get to your belly, thus reducing the amount of fossil fuels burned in transportation. Less air pollution, less damage to our soils and waters being drilled for oil, and less depletion of this non-renewable resource.
3. In-season food. Consider the difference in food miles traveled between a February strawberry, typically coming Florida or California, and a July strawberry, which is available locally. Again, energy is saved in the transportation and storage process. You might also consider the amount of energy input needed to keep a hot house tomato plant thriving in the middle of a Maine winter vs. the energy needed to vine-ripen a tomato in the middle of August. (more…)

Online Resources:

• Healthy Heart Guide

• Healthy Recipes at the Cardiology Associates

• Recipes from the American Heart Association

• Healthy Heart Handbook for Women

• Heart Health projects in Maine

Soup is not only a comfort food, it is an economical way to use leftovers from a roasted chicken dinner or a pan of roasted vegetables and get a delicious and nutritious meal. My family will often sit down to a satisfying bowl of steaming soup and a loaf of whole grain bread with a chunk of cheese on the side.

Cooking soup is easy once you understand the basics. Really great information is available through our local library system where you can take out cookbooks or cooking shows. Don’t forget about inter library loans.

My family has enjoyed watching the old Julia Child Cooking shows and I’ve discovered a really good book about making soup. It’s by Barbara Kafka and it is called “Soup, A Way of Life”.

You can also learn about soup making at the Belfast Co-op’s “Eat Healthy on a Budget” class at the UU Church on January 25th from 1-3 pm. At this free class, co-sponsored by the UU Church of Belfast, you will learn about basic soup making while enjoying hot soup and good company.

Empowering poor communities around the world is the number one goal of Fair Trade. Education, environmental concern, health care, worker safety, training, and business support are just some of the resources available to the communities who are producing products for the fair trade movement.

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