Eating local can eat it

I give up. It's been only two and a half weeks, but I yield.

When my friend AP first mentioned trying to eat locally (within 100 miles of where she lived), I thought she was crazy. But then I read all those books and it seemed like a fun adventure! so we signed up (mentally, at least) for the Eat Local Challenge, choosing the forgiving goal of eating local for every 4 out of 5 foods for 1 month.

And it was fun! Our concept of what we could eat locally exploded. We hit multiple farmer's markets, ate fabulous local produce, and we were amazed by the number of regular meals we could adapt without much trouble. We discovered locally processed and/or grown pasta and flours, plums and berries and the season's first apples, split peas and dried beans... even as I write this it sounds so easy... I mean, you've got honey and maple syrup and all the wheat and dairy in the world!

But lo, it is not so easy. Ultimately we were brought down by:
1. Time. Although late summer is a great time, produce-wise, to eat local, it is also a terrible time, schedule-wise. Our weeknights are nearly full, so we'd grocery shop on our lunch hour and then come home at 8:30 and start cooking... and cleaning, washing up sinkfuls of pots and pans.

2. Feeling like we were cheating all the time. My co-op is generous with the "local" label, affixing it to nearly anything in the tri-state area... and some products that are merely locally owned... which is good, but does that count? We made an exception for dining out, which sounded reasonable until it's a coffee here and brunch there and then dinner here, and is that what eating local really looks like? And what about beverages? Is farmer-to-farmer, locally roasted coffee OK? Even milk (and other dairy products) had me wondering where the cows really lived.

When a few unusually stressful weeks at work left me tossing and turning at night and running around panic busy during the day, I realized that now is maybe not a great time to take on a task like this.

So we gave up, and even though we're not eating all that much less locally, I feel so much better not having to think about food all the time. Eating local is something we'll continue to aspire to and value, but for now, it will have to be in moderation.