Local Foods: Community, Vitality and Liberty!

March 12th, 2009 at 09:51am Margaret Larson

Since taking on the director’s position at the University of Illinois Extension-Winnebago County, I have had the good (or great) fortune to become involved with growers, consumers, and volunteers who have a passion for what many call the Local Foods Movement.

Extensions throughout the country have been offering information and training on this topic for 100 years, but it’s been called agriculture, gardening, 4-H projects, canning and freezing, food safety, or community development. Today, we are back to our roots and involved in offering support and information about our local food system to communities throughout Illinois.

Since early fall, a very active and enthused group of farmers, consumers and local foods supporters has been meeting at the Extension Office as the Winnebago County Local Foods Working Group.

Together, we have identified local opportunities to strengthen the food system in our area, by providing education, awareness, and support to the many facets of this system. It has been a pleasure to get to know this group well and hear their thoughts, opinions, and experiences in terms of what we can do in our area.

In October, we published the Local Foods Directory for Northern Illinois.  I guess we weren’t that amazed when the 500 copies disappeared from the shelf. We took on the project at the request of many who were searching for a guide to sourcing their food locally. We just went through a second printing of 100 in six days. Back to the printer!

The Local Foods Work Group is excited to have the opportunity to share our perspectives, viewpoints and experiences with readers throughout the area through this blog and column. Our members will be sharing information from their world of local food, focusing on topics such as eating seasonally,  food preservation, nutrition, grower’s concerns and triumphs, livestock production, local foods issues such as food security and access, the ins and outs of farmers markets, how to get to know your farmer…..the list goes on and on. We’ll also announce our related activities and events and highlight opportunities for you to learn more — right here, each week.

Entry Filed under: Eat locally