The Walmart effect

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Just a link to a very interesting article. There are so many issues to balance in nationwide food debates. There is a knee-jerk reaction against big corporate entities, especially ones with terrible workplace practices, like Walmart, but getting the huge food system to adapt and change is important too. Costco, the legend of huge sizes and relatively upscale bargains, is known for its produce and fresh food, some of it organic. The will of these giants, with their eye on the bottom line, may be what is needed to get organic or locally farmed food into the nationwide distribution system.

At the end of the day, access to fresh food at affordable prices is critically important. Strange, but true, that a mega-store may be the one that can make local, organic, fresh food the norm versus a luxury.

The Great Grocery Smackdown: Will Walmart, Not Whole Foods, save the small farm and make America healthy? Croby Kummer, The Atlantic, March 2010

White House Garden: Spring 2009

White House Press Photo

What a fabulous idea! I am so in love this inspiring idea to plant a garden on the White House Lawn. I love Michelle Obama's grace and leadership in using the garden to make a broad statement about food and food policy. From the diagram, the planned garden looks like a beauty, with a kaleidoscope of wonderful fruits and vegetables. (OK, I'm a little jealous!)

Of course there are nayasyers (NYT's Room for Debate below has several points of view), but really this is a low-cost (about $200), potentially high-yield project in terms of both actual food and national attention to the crisis of unhealthy eating and unhealthy land-use. It send a message of how to think differently about food and better ways to use your grassy lawn.

“The power of Michelle Obama and the garden can create a very powerful message about eating healthy and more delicious food. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say it could translate into real change.”
Dan Barber, an owner of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, an organic restaurant in Pocantico Hills, N.Y

The White House garden represents a simple step, but it's a great way to engage kids to think about better food choices. It shows kids and adults that growing food is like magic, but not a mystery. Even just knowing that local food is possible, even in the most unlikely places, is important and empowering. As the community gardeners say, "You grow girl!"

The White House Blog: Spring garden planting
Obamas Prepare to Plant a Vegetable Garden at the White House. Marian Burros, NYT 3.19.09
Washington's Not-so-Secret Garden, Room for Debate, NYT 3.21.09

Eat Local or Shop Local?

Today I was poised to do a "big shop" at my local food coop, but something came up and I had to do an errand in a totally different neighborhood. So, I stopped into my local butcher (Los Paisanos Meat Market) instead to pickup something for dinner. Instead of just getting chicken breasts, I ended up buying meat and other deli items that will probably last our family 4-5 days or so. The owner looked so happy over my big order that I thought he would kiss me. (He's an older guy in his 70s who likes to call the customers sweetie or gorgeous or young lady/man in that old-time Brooklyn way.)

Every time I go into this place, or any of the few local butcher shops left in Park Slope/Carrol Gardens area, I think, "I have to shop here more. I really don't want this place to go out of business." Not only is the food really good, but the experience is so personal. You can ask the guys how to cook something, or how much you need of a certain item for a family of four or a crowd. You know that the prepared foods, take-out and dining-out trends hurts these guys. If no one is cooking at home, no one is going to a butcher shop. Many butcher shops have adapted to have more ready to eat, or ready to cook fare, and that's good business. Several other customers were there to buy sandwiches, although at least one (maybe inspired by me?) ordered something to cook for dinner too.

There's a lot of food talk about buying local and buying organic, but in this economy, shopping local is important too. The prices I paid were comparable if not cheaper that the organic, locally-raised meat at the coop, but I'm helping a local business survive. Many places in the country can depend only on big supermarkets or Costco for their food. But there are little, family-run vegetable stores and meat markets quietly tuck away in many places, too. Support your local economy any way you can!

Shouts outs for Los Paisanos from Yelp.com

Eat Local Family Dinner

We are halfway into the Eat Local Challenge Month of October. I'm participating, but only in the sense that I am trying not to shop anywhere but my food coop this month. (And that may be a more "worried about the economy" thing.)

Still, it's a good time to try eat local as much as possible. Harvests are in for the Northeastern parts of the country and the late summer-like weather is keeping the farmer's markets brimming with produce. Places like California, where the challenge originates, and parts of the South have more variety and selection of local produce year-round, but you have to work with what you have.

Eating locally for yourself is one thing; getting your family to eat local is quite another. On one hand, my kids are pretty flexible about food. But on the other, they won't eat any of the organic breakfast cereals I buy. They only want "good" cereal which means Life, Honey Nut Cheerios, and Special K with strawberries. I make special trips to Target to get these coveted brands, because as a mom, I think eating breakfast is important too. (Is there a "local" breakfast cereal, anyway?)

Dinner is more open to a local-only domain. Sarah Beam writes about the Eat Local Challenge family-style. One plus is that it has added new dishes to her family dinner rotation and is inspiring her family to try new things. Her somewhat reluctant husband even surprised her by showing up at their CSA (Athens Locally Grown) to join in the spirit.

Sarah hints that one tension for her family during the challenge is meat. Our family eats meat and has the luxury of grass-fed, locally-raised meat from our food coop. The prices are discounted, but it is still very expensive compared to conventionally-raised meat. I constantly have to adjust my expectations about what meat "should" cost. So, we just try too eat less of it. Last night, it was two pork chops (thick ones, but still) among our family of four, plus toddler. We shoot for one pound of meat or less for the family; half a pound, if it is stir-fry. Four or so ounces per person is the actual advised serving size, though many Americans eat far more than that at each meal. The meal is rounded out by extra vegetables and grains, local and/or organic whenever possible. We are moving in the right direction, at least.

A Challenge for the Whole Family. Sarah Beam

A Family Eats Local In Hawaii. Debbie

Farm Stand on The Run. Lisa Abend, Gourmet. 10.02.08

Local Food Round Up, 08.08

There have been so many articles on local food lately, it's hard to keep up. Maybe it's that the high summer growing season is upon us, and the sheer bounty and promise of fresh, local, food is inspiring writers and eaters from coast to coast. I found several local food advocate organizations today online and want to further the "Buy Local" message here. So click and explore the links below. Family dinners are a natural part of the slow food movement, even though it is sometimes cast as a elitist, foodie sentiment. Family dinners not only provide your own family with nurture and stability, they contribute to the wider economy and ecosystem of how food gets produced and delivered to the table, By choosing healthy, "cook-you-own" food, that is also as local and organic as possible, you help improve the system. You help make family farms economically viable while educating your children about food, culture, and the wider world. One study of the Maine agriculture system cites that consumer shifting of just 1% of their purchases to local goods, increased farmer's income by 5%. Every little bit helps, and the summer is the easiest time ever to enjoy what great local produce is all about.

Coming up soon is the Slow Food Nation Conference (Labor Day Aug 29-Sept 1 2008) in San Francisco. I won't be there, but I look forward to vicariously celebrating local food via the blog posts and news articles that sure will follow. Edible nation writer calls it the "First Continental Culinary Congress." Forgetting for a moment that the First U.S. Continental Congress is often considered a failure, it did serve to inspire the Constitution and the re-making of our nation. Can we hope for the same with good old local food? It's sure to be a good time, anyway.



Some ways to find and support local food:
Guide to NYC greenmarkets here and what's in season: Pride of NY Harvest schedule.

Food Routes: A national non-profit which sponsors "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" Chapters nationwide

Search local food directories from ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, a public-private partnership with the USDA.

Eat Local Challenge Join the East Local Challenge October 2008, start planning now!

Local Harvest, an extensive website and directory connecting people to local food sources, search by zip code, or mail order from small farms nationwide.

My Top Six Favorite Farm Food sites, by Ethan Book, www.epicurious.com editor
www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2008/04/my-top-six-favo.html

More Articles on Local Food.
Comments on NYT's Lazy Locavores article at Grist.org

Mark Bittman belongs to a CSA and here's his happy report: Back to the Farm, Bitten Blog 08.05.08

Register Your Beliefs: how to go green at the grocery, also at Grist.org

Niche Farming Offers Way Back to the Land, Brent Bowers NYT, 08.06.08

Greenmarket Sellers Debate Maze of Producers-Only Rule Indrani Sen, NYT, 08.06.08

NYT Well blog post on healthy local food: Boosting Health with Local Food. 06.06.08

Farmers Come to Market

While on vacation in the Catskills, there was a back road called Farm to Market Road which ran parallel to the main road, 9W. Maybe it preceded 9W or was merely more direct route from the farm to the city. The road ran past many rolling hills of farmland, much of it which appeared to be "still working." As I drove, I thought of a local article I'd just read by Amy Kenyon, "A Sense of Place: The Catskills Working Landscape" (Catskills Region Guide, July 2008). She writes about the goal of preserving not just land, but a workable, sustainable landscape. This represents the farming hertiage of the Catskills, she argues, and provides not just scenery, but community, economy, and culture--not to mention, great food.

The real Farm to Market road these days is I-87, which upstate farmers use to bring their goods to the City and local suburbs. Traffic, gas prices, accidents, and weather all contribute to make this a daunting journey, even in the high summer season. The City, in a renaissance of local food awareness, is welcoming the bounty and the effort, ready to renew the "farm to market" connection. It's exciting that so many people are interested in local food and willing to pay more for the privilege.

The relationship comes with "issues" apart from logistics. Small local farmers may find it difficult to "ramp up" production and deal with success of having many more buyers, as the recent Dines Farms case points out. Organic or local standards may get bent or even broken, despite efforts to assure quality by the Greenmarkets and others. (Many consider the USDA organic standards to be onerous for small farmers.) Plus, what may be fashionable this season, may not sell in the next, or the overall economy may push people back to cheaper food. Nonetheless, I hope that the local food trend itself is sustainable and will not just be forgotten or co-opted by Whole Foods and the "big-business" farmers. In the height of the summer growing season, here's to hoping that the business model grows too, and that the interest in local, sustainable food and food hertiage helps sustain and support these hard-working farmers for many years to come.

Some great recent articles about local food, and one very old one (1989!):
The Man with a Pig Over his Shoulder, by Daniel Meyer on Bittman's Blog, 7.28.08
I've seen the Flying Pigs Farm truck in my Brooklyn neighborhood, so they must be delivering here too.
Farmer Deals with Drop in Business and Credibility, by Irandi Sen, NYT, 7.30.08
A Locally Grown Diet with Fuss, but No Muss, by Kim Severson, NYT 07.22.08
Farmer's Apples Aren't Pretty, and She Like Them That Way, NYT, 10.09.89
An old profile of Amy Hepworth, who runs one of my favorite family farms; every week I buy her produce at the coop. Her family's farm was found in 1818, so that's pretty sustainable!

Home Away from Home Cooking

I'm on vacation with my family this week and we're taking family dinner on the road. Our typical vacation is to rent out a house by the week, preferably near some body of water. It ends up cheaper than a hotel and more "normal" since you can cook your own meals and not eat out every single meal. You get the suburban thrill of letting the kids play outdoors in wide open spaces otherwise known as a lawn. The downside is that there's still the basic routine of making and eating dinner, all while negotiating someone else's kitchen.

Often we go to the beach. But this year, we are trying out the Catskills, with its lakes and mountains. It's a bit cheaper and I have fond memories of lake swimming. When we go to the beach, I try to pack all kinds of food and drink, because the island provisions can be slim and pricey. But this time, I'm going to try the local sources, which may just mean big suburban grocery stores. I hope, though, I'll be able to connect with local farms stands and wineries. We'll be near the Hudson Valley which has been touted for it's produce and wines. I'll report back on my success.

For cooking on the road to work, you have to be willing and able to improvise. It's good idea to bring a few staples: olive oil, some herbs and spices, garlic, rice or pasta, so that you have a foundation to work from. A grill is necessary equipment for a summer house and should be pressed into service daily. Vacations and grilling should be intertwined whenever possible. Plus, I'll let the kids have potato chips, and maybe soda or popsicles. Eating summer treats, outside, in a wooded locale or by the lake is a summer memory in the making.

High Food Prices, Take Two

So often my posts are inspired or informed by New York Times articles, I fear that I sound like a broken record. But today, I noticed a NYT article (Kim Severson's Some Good News on Food Prices) about something I wrote about here and here a few weeks ago. The gist: High food prices might have some positive effects by: 1) reducing the portion size of high-calorie items, and 2) reducing the cost difference between organic and local food and conventional food.

I would never say it's good news for food prices to go up. As someone with a family and 5 mouths to feed (6 including the dog), I'm feeling the crunch every time I run to the bodega for milk or orange juice. Two separate visits this weekend for breakfast staples set me back for more than $10 each time, and I was buying only 2 or 3 items. Personally, sticker-shock aside, I can well afford more expensive food. But I know that many of my neighbors can't. The sign on the local food pantry, which I pass daily, usually says "Sorry No More Pantry Today." It features a little smiley face that breaks my heart.

Yet, I do think there is a huge swath of people who can afford to spend more on food. The decreasing price difference between organic food and conventional food will help average shoppers look twice at their alternatives. I think that many who try organic and local produce and dairy products will be convinced not to go back. The taste and freshness are often so much better. Plus, the cost of grocery-store food has to be put in perspective. When you think about how much money it costs to feed a family on take-out or packaged, processed foods, the price of food that you cook yourself, even if it is organic, is so much lower. Plus, you can really budget when you're feeding a family. You might have expensive grass-fed beef on one night and then turkey burgers on the next.

Reducing portion size to combat high food prices is a win-win. The portion sizes of restaurant meals and NY take-out food, like bagels or pizza, can use a little trimming. Americans simply expect too much food on their plates and are possessed to eat whatever is in front of them, regardless how outsized the portion. One study showed that participants didn't notice the portion they were given (they just ate it), even though they were given 50% to 100% more food.

Recently my husband and I went on a date during Brooklyn's "Dine In Brooklyn Week. We went to a trendy, expensive place that we dared not bring the kids. The special menu featured a choice of appetizer, entree and dessert from a limited list of choices, a standard " Restaurantprixfixe. These entrees were also on the regular menu, which had a much longer list of choices in a wide price range. The special prices that were about one-third less expensive than a normal dinner. How could the restaurant afford to do this? Well, the portion size was smaller, of course! And all the better for us, in my opinion. I'd rather have three reasonably-sized dishes (with room for dessert) than pig-out on one thing or on multiple things as is often expected with big appetizers, big entrees, and big desserts all in line. The table next to us ordered the regular-sized dessert, for instance, and it was clearly twice the size of the prixfixe one. The special menu entrees were smaller too, but plenty of food and in line with an "at-home" portion of dinner. Of course, even the normal portions of a Brooklyn place, probably have nothing on the national chain restaurants that often describes huge portions as a "value."

Some Good News on Food Prices NYT, 4.02.08
As Jobs Vanish and Prices Rise, Food Stamp Use Nears Record NYT 3.31.08
Increased Portion Size Leads to Increased Calorie Intake. Dr. Barbara Rolls, Obesity Research
Fooling the Satiety Meter (With Recipe) Science News, 2.18.06

Community-Grown Solutions

As spring approaches, community gardens in New York City are gearing up. That's a real local food possibility for many residents in the city. Several NYC conferences are taking place in the next few weeks that promise to tap into community resources for better local food options for kids and families. Find your local NYC garden here or read more about community gardens in the article below.

Community Gardens by Anne Schwartz, Gotham Gazette, 07.17.06. This article provides background and resources on the continued fight for community gardens.

Upcoming Conferences:
Taking Health into our Own Hands. Forum on Community Grown Solutions. Tuesday March 18, 2008, 6pm-9pm. CUNY Graduate Center, Proshansky Auditorium, 365 Fifth Ave, NY, NY.
Register and more info here. See also Why Hunger (WHY)'s: Food Security Learning Center

GreenThumb Grown Together, 24th Annual Conference, March 15, 2008, Hostos Community College, Bronx, 450 Grand Concourse and 149th St.
featuring: NYC Garden to Cafeteria: Connecting School and Community Gardens, Green Thumb Workshop. Contact: SchoolFood, in the NYC Dept of Education.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) 2008, March 29, Teachers College Columbia University, New York.

Schools, Food and Community Conference, April 11-12, Teachers College Columbia University, New York (Pre-register at www.baumforum.org).

Edible NYC: Building the "Good Food" System

I attended the Edible NYC conference this weekend and I was inspired. Despite the pouring rain, so many people came out to talk about local, sustainable food in NYC. I did not expect this conference about food and community gardening to feel so much like a revival, or at the very least, a political rally. But food is political and it is soulful. The connections of community and food run deep.

One highlight of the day was a 19-year old named Kimberly Vargas, a Red Hook resident and garden advocate, who works with Added Value. This young woman preached about "real food," was angry at the food choices presented to her family and friends at local bodegas, and was fired up to help change the food system. She declared herself "soda-free" for over a year, drawing gasps and applause from the audience. She was followed by Mark Winne, the 50-something author of Closing the Food Gap. As well as food politics, he spoke poetry and told funny, colorful stories of community organizing in the 1960s.

I was smack-down in the middle, age-wise, between the two of them, and also the majority of the audience. Many in the audience and at the non-profit booths were young: some in their teens, some in their twenties. There were quite a few older folks (post-AARP age) as well, but not too many 30 and 40-somethings. I'm sure I wasn't the only one in the room feeding a family of young kids, but I felt like I might have been. This means nothing except, that it's a reminder that having a family takes a lot of time and it's not easy to do "extras" like community gardening or chatting about local food on a Saturday. Still, good food is so important for families and for children.

Good food (local, organic, sustainable) and family dinner go hand in hand. They are the foundation of healthy families and healthy communities. Here's the challenge: to build and sustain an equitable and nutritious food system. One way to start: harness the energy and enthusiasm of youth, tap into the wisdom and experience of age, and bring the gospel of "good food" down to the families with children. Then, maybe, we'll have the power of numbers to bring real change about.

Added Value promotes sustainable development in Red Hook, including the Red Hook Farmer's Market

Only the Blog Know Brooklyn on the Added Value Red Hook farm

Edible NYC was sponsored by the GreenBridge of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Local School Food

Since I'm a parent and an advocate for family dinner, I'm especially interested in feeding kids and helping them have a healthy relationship with food. Schools are an important part of this equation. In New York, and many other locales, school cafeteria food is the only consistent meal of the day that many kids can count on. There are so many challenges for school and food.

• How to create nutritious and affordable fare day after day for a large numbers of kids?
• How to make the food attractive and tasty (thus eaten) in addition to being healthy?
• How do you keep junk food at bay, but still have enough food revenue to cover expenses?
• How to you get kids to try new, and hopefully healthier, foods?
  

I love the idea that schools can tap into local farm resources for some of their school menus. But there are many challenges to overcome. The Board of Eduction relies on federal agricultural supplies and there are a labyrinth of regulations to change procurement methods to assure safe food for the kids. One Brooklyn school supports a CSA and a local farmer (Dines Farm, a staple at many NYC Greenmarkets), but not directly to the cafeteria table. The initial idea was to develop a relationship so that the local produce could find its way to the kids at school. That didn't work out, but the PTA saved the idea by offering parents membership in a school-based CSA. Now at least some parents are getting local produce and meat to serve for dinner. Plus, it's starting an education process for both kids and parents about the food-farm connection. It's a good start.

Alice Waters and the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, CA is one inspiration. Martin Luther King Jr., Middle School has its own garden and a full curriculum of growing, cooking, and using plants for dyes and science experiments. Still, it is wholly supported by a private foundation and thus may be hard to mimic on a broad scale. Edible Schoolyard's website has useful tips and suggestions (lessons learned the hard way, it notes) for school and communities that want to incorporate real gardening into the local food movement.

I found so many farm-to-school links, resources and articles out there (some listed below). It's an idea worth fighting for.

Upcoming Conferences and other Resources:
Edible NYC: Green it! Grow it! Eat it! at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, this weekend, March 8th.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) 2008, March 29, Teachers College Columbia University, New York.
Schools, Food and Community Conference, April 11-12, Teachers College Columbia University, New York (Pre-register at www.baumforum.org).
Baum Forum Resource Guide. See past forums and resource guides to find links and articles about a wide range of local food topics, such as School Food Resources and the Urban Food System.
National Farm to School A national organization that helps connect schools and farms.
New York Farm to School Resources Compiled by NYFarms! a statewide coalition of farmers, businesses, government agencies and non-profits committed to NY farms and families.
Free Lunch Isn't Cool, so Some Students Go Hungry NYT, 3.1.08
Fast Food 101 NYT Well Blog, 12.28.07
Local Food 101, with a School as his Lab, NYT, 05.13.07
Naked Lunch, NYT 02.11.07
Do Apple Slices Make the Grade? NYT, 04.05.06 Great article that highlights some of the challenges to getting healthier food in cafeterias.

Fire at the Market

Funny that I was talking about food distribution yesterday. Dinner's got to get to the table somehow, and, in NYC, all roads lead through the Hunts Point Terminal Market.

A Two Alarm Fire at Hunts Point Market yesterday afternoon was a top local story, as reported by the gothamist.com. The fire was brought under control pretty quickly and thankfully, no one was hurt. Two well-known meat distributors, Master Purveyors and Desola Provisions, may have damages exceeding tens of millions of dollars, though, as reported by a NYT article this morning. The main market is open today and the affected businesses hope to be back up and running later this week, according to NY1 news.

Hunts Point Market is the main entry for all of NYC's food. Fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish all come in through this common point, which is a 60-acre complex in the Bronx. The city closed down the Fulton Fish Market, formerly located at South Street Seaport, several years ago in an effort to modernize and to eliminate mob influence in the market. The Hunts Point Produce Cooperative alone has revenues exceed $1.5 billion annually, more than any other produce market in the world. On their website, you can click through the Fruit, Herb, Vegetable, and Asian Specialty Reports to see what's available and to see cryptic notes on why green beans might be expensive this week.

Luckily this fire was a relatively minor incident. I have always been amazed that food is delivered so efficiently in the city. Never in my time here have I seen a serious food shortage, not in blizzards, not after 9/11, never. I can always get milk at the bodega. (Or one of the five within a block's walk.) Growing up in Florida, on the other hand, I often remember store shelves being totally decimated in the days before and after a hurricane. Something's got to be working.

Update on Fire: NYT, 02.13.08

Green Carts and Bodega Blues

Eating better is related to shopping better, and that's connected to the food distribution system. In New York, it's also connected to where you live and what food stores are close to you. How can we make it easier for people to make better food choices and not be "stuck" with industrial food? In a city where food, and everything else, can be so expensive, how can we encourage low-income families to buy and eat better food?

The Mayor's office is supporting an innovative new program called Green Carts that would issue permits to 1,500 fruit and vegetable vendors to serve low-income neighborhoods. It's a great idea. Yet, this morning, I read a sad article in the Times about the Brooklyn public market that is slated to be shut down by the city. While the photos make it look like a glorified bodega, merchants purport to sell fresh fruits and vegetables to residents of the surrounding low-income neighborhood. Why would the city want to tear this down, when it already recognizes the challenge of getting more and better food options to these very neighborhoods? There seems to be room for improvement in this space, certainly (see slideshow here). But why can't indoor, all-year round food markets be coupled with the movement to increase farmer's markets and pushcarts?

When I studied public health at Columbia University, my department was called Sociomedical Sciences. Most people have no idea what this means. What it means, simply, is this: health is not strictly about biology or even medical care. The health of an individual or a group of people is influenced by culture, economics, politics, and all sorts of "non-medical" factors. For example, people who live in low-income neighborhoods tend to have poor nutrition. Some of this is due to education and cultural preferences, i.e., Papi just likes fried food. Some of it is economic: organic food is expensive and food stamps only go so far.

A recent Health Department study comparing Harlem to the Upper East Side found that supermarkets in Harlem are 30 percent less common, and that only 3 percent of bodegas in Harlem carry leafy green vegetables as compared to 20 percent on the Upper East Side. The Green Cart legislation covers neighborhoods where at least 12 percent of adults reported, in Health Department surveys, that they did not eat any fruits or vegetables on the previous day. Source: NYC.gov

But some of it is political and institutional. People who depend on local bodegas for food can't actually buy low-fat milk because the stores don't carry it. Have you ever tried to find an apple at a bodega? Even if you did, it would probably taste terrible because if it's so old. Any fruit for purchase is likely to be in the sugar-added canned form. I know this because in addition to buying food at the Park Slope Food Coop (an eater's nirvana), I shop at the bodega on my corner in a pinch. These are nights of rice and beans or chesse quesadillas. I can often find very fresh cilantro, though, which indicates that there is some cooking going on in the 'hood.

A return to real food a'la Michael Pollan should not just be for the elite. Many immigrant groups come from a long tradition of home-cooked meals that can be healthier than the starch- and fat-ridden American diet that their local shops support. Without fresh vegetables and other staples to make their home-country cuisine, people chose poor substitutes. The city should be supporting many avenues for fresh food shopping.

Food Coop Blues

I worked my usual shift at the Park Slope Food Coop today. I had my usual reluctance when I saw the every-4-week shift looming on the calendar. "Argh, another day practically 'lost,'" I thought. The 3-hour shift, plus shopping time, takes up more than half of the school day; the only time I can usually get things done. Plus, there's the added rush in the morning to get everyone ready for school and me to the place by 8am. But in the end, the trip had more joy than frustration, with some neighborly socializing thrown in. I spoke to people about food, of course, but also about toddlers who, like mine, won't reliably sleep past 6am, and about Fiona Shaw in Happy Days, a phenomenal play at BAM. Usually I overhear or partake in political discussions as well, but I guess it was a "slow" day.

The real bonus is that my refrigerator and shelves are now chock-full with food, including lots of organic fruit and vegetables, healthy snacks, and the makings of at least a week's worth of meals and school lunches. I bought a delicata squash for the first time and hope to make something good of it. My daughter's birthday is coming up, so I bought more than our usual share of treats: brownie mix for birthday snack at school (that happens to be organic), ice cream, and some of her favorite things, like clementines and chocolate.

Having all that good food on hand really does fuel the family dinner. Without it, it's easy to fall into the habit of ordering take-out or dressing up some grocery-store convenience food as dinner. Eating better and cooking better starts with your shopping trip.

My coop seems so rare and unlikely, a bustling non-profit food business with over 10,000 members nestled in an unassuming and impossibly small, old building in Park Slope. But there are food coops all around the country and they take many different shapes. The Park Slope Food Coop requires a work commitment, but that is somewhat unusual. A food coop can help you get good food at better prices, as long as it is frequented enough to keep the produce and groceries fresh. Check out the Coop Directory to see if there is one near you. Local Harvest is another great resource that lists food coops, farmer's markets and family farms that sell directly to consumers. It's not so bad, after all, belonging to a coop!

New Year Thoughts

I hate New Year's Resolutions, but somehow I can’t help feeling melancholy at this time of year. I guess New Year's Resolutions are supposed to be upbeat challenges to get your mind off the doldrums you feel mid-winter, after the holidays and after the kids are (finally!) back in school.

To stop all my ruminating, I'll just jump right in. I start back blogging with a funny holiday story and a short, personal to-do list.

Goose Fat
Michael cooked a goose for Christmas. It was delicious, but as Julia Child notes “Goose has a fat problem.” He removed cups and cups of goose fat during the cooking process, but not all of it apparently. So much goose fat is not good for the plumbing, it turns out. After an emergency service call, the plumber, of course, blamed the “wife” for putting grease down the sink. My husband couldn’t find it in himself to own up. Nonetheless, the kids are asking when we can have “cracklings” again. All in all, a triumph for Michael!

To Do List:

• Catch up on Food Reading: namely, Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food and Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
• Learn more about the local food movement, specifically my "local" NYC food network and distribution system.
• Make connections and get word out about eatdinner.org.
• Start our sister site: carfreenation.org.

Brooklyn Locavore

While much of the food I buy isn't actually grown in Brooklyn, it's fairly easy for me to get access to great fruits and vegetables grown within a 100 miles or so, as well as grass-fed, organic meat. (Thank you, Food Coop!) The bigger natural food chains of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's as well as the local empire Fairway have finally taken notice of Brooklyn's huge population of food lovers and are offering better food options to locals.

I try to buy local fruits and vegetables whenever I can, preferring that designation over simply "organic." (Though I enjoy the huge privilege of shopping at the Coop, where much of the produce is both.) An organic Red Delicious apple from Washington State shipped to me in Brooklyn tastes terrible, so IMO, what's the point?

There have recently been articles debunking the environmental arguments for buying local, but I think this misses the point. Buying local is not just about saving on carbon-footprints. It's about being connected to your community and having a better connection to the food you eat. When you buy local food, you are more likely to be eating better, fresher meat and produce. That also means that the food is more likely to be in season, and more likely to have been treated with care all along the distribution route.

All this supports the family meal. When everyone enjoys the food and is nourished by it, they are more likely to join in the family meal and look forward to the time together.

Some Articles and Books
Local Locavores: My Empire of Dirt, with video, and another Brooklyn story
Locavore, Get Your Gun (I love the title of this one.)
If it's Fresh and Local, is it Always Green?
My Year in Vegetables: Barbara Kingsolver
Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma

From Brooklyn with Love

Living in Brooklyn, honestly, it’s hard not to be a foodie. One of the best things about my city are all the fantastic food options within walking distance or a short subway ride. The riches range from old-time Italian butchers to farmer's markets to newer gourmet take- outs. Plus, there are specialty cheese shops, artisanal bakeries and ethnic grocery stores that offer a wide assortment of foods from all over the world. On weekends, we often take family trips to Chinatown (Manhattan's or Brooklyn's) or Brighton Beach (a Russian immigrant section in Brooklyn) to forage new foods to make into meals.

Some local food blogs I love: Edible Brooklyn, The Food Section, and The Park Slope Food Coop. (OK, I admit it. I belong to the Coop and like it, despite some well-publicized hassles, that are honestly blown-out-of-proportion.)

Though it's now hopelessly out of date, my husband and I found many delicious treats around New York with Ed Levine's New York Eats (More). Will there ever be an update? A Brooklyn edition? The task may be too insurmountable, but one can hope.