The Eat Local For The Holidays campaign is an effort by the
Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition to encourage people to choose at
least one item in their holiday meal from a local source.
This year’s theme is Deliciously Simple.
Reasons for eating local food include keeping your food
dollars in the local economy, reducing your carbon footprint, increasing the
freshness of the foods people eat and because local foods taste great.The campaign includes an opportunity to pledge to serve at least one locally-grown food in holiday celebrations. The website www.eatlocalkc.net includes a sign-up for the pledge, reasons why it is important to eat local, what food is fresh in Kansas and Missouri right now, a list of farmer’s markets open during this time of year, restaurants serving local food, local food recipes and how to get involved in creating a healthy local food system.
Last year more than 300 people took the pledge and the GKCFPC is looking to double that number in 2012. Those who take the pledge are entered in a drawing for local food prizes.
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Eat Local Pledge
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Blue Bird Restaurant’s Dine With A Farmer Night.
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Chef demonstrations at farmer’s markets and
class extensions.
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Youth preparing healthy Halloween meals.
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Farmer’s markets open in the fall.
Members of the GKCFPC, which includes individuals,
organizations, businesses and government representatives representing all
critical components of our local food system, will be available to talk to media.
So will local farmers, etc…
More information will come in October, but if you have early
interest in learning about this campaign, please do not hesitate to contact me
at mstrauss@kchealthykids.org
or (816) 728-9141, or look at our websites at www.eatlocalkc.net or www.kcfoodpolicy.org.
The Greater
Kansas City Food Policy Coalition (GKCFPC) advocates for a strong local food
system that provides healthy, sustainable and accessible foods for everyone
living in Greater Kansas City. We want the food that our families, our
children, and our neighbors eat to be the best for our bodies, our environment,
and our local community.
“You are what you eat” is a
fact. Research shows that diets high in fruits, vegetables, fiber and
grains are associated with lower risks of heart disease and many types of
cancer.
Healthy food choices play a
significant role in obesity prevention and treatment. Kansas and Missouri
unfortunately have obesity rates around 30 percent of the population.
A strong local food system keeps
revenue in our community.
Produce in the average U.S.
grocery store travels nearly 1,500 miles from the farm where it was grown.
Eating local means we are less
affected by large-scale food recalls of contaminated goods that are processed
in consolidated facilities and shipped throughout the country.
Local foods are a more
sustainable and environmentally friendly solution to shipping in food from long
distances.
A strong local food system keeps
revenue in our community and provides opportunities for small and mid-sized
agribusiness to develop and expand.
Having a strong source of local
and regional foods makes our region more self-sufficient and more insulated
from food safety issues involving global and national food sources.
Local farms can produce regional
and cultural foods that are important to our heritage.
Local food is fresher and tastes better
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