Every year the New Oxford American Dictionary prepares for the winter holidays by making its biggest announcement of the year. “Choosing the word of the year is incredibly difficult,” says Oxford editor Erin McKean. “Not just because of the enormous amount of data but because everyone has such strong opinions about what makes a word ‘Word of the Year’ material.” But it was the 2007 Word of the Year, better known to the cool kids over at Oxford University Press as WOTY, that caught our attention. Do you frequent farmers markets? Grow vegetables in your backyard? Buy wine from the vineyards out east? You just might be a locavore.
LOCA WHAT?
It’s hard to believe, but we put about as much fossil fuel in our refrigerators as we do in our cars. Our food now travels an average of 1,500 miles before ending up on our plates. The locavore movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’ markets instead of supermarkets, or to grow their own in order to avoid transportation fuel use.
FIND A FARMER
There are plenty of farm stands on Long Island to choose from, but if that’s too much work for you, consider participating in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, where you invest in a local farm in exchange for a weekly box of assorted vegetables and other products. Visit Local Harvest to find a farm stand or CSA program close to you. Need an extra push? Get some help from the Lighthearted Locavore, a Long Islander who knows a thing or two about where to shop local.
In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, fiction writer Barbara Kingsolver and her family document their experiences while taking a vow that for one year they'd only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it.
SLOW FOOD LONG ISLAND
Slow Food Long Island aims to counter the fast food movement by organizing dinners, farm visits, educational events, food tours and pig roasts. Joining the national organization is a way to show your support for the movement here on Long Island. Nick & Toni’s, Wild Fig, Wild Harvest, Roots, 18 Bay are just a few restaurants to get on board by incorporating some local ingredients in their menus.
FILM: TABLELAND
From the inner city gardens of Chicago to the Napa Highlands, Tableland showcases the successful production of tasty, local and seasonal food from field to plate. The people in the film are not just farmers and chefs, but writers, teachers, activists living a locavore lifestyle. Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave, Huntington. 631-423-FILM. 7:30 p.m. $12, $9. June 9.
Heirloom Veggies
There are more than 600 varieties of heirloom tomatoes ranging from yellow to purple.
Animals aren’t the only ones becoming extinct. Sweet Purple peppers, spicy red carrots, strawberry popping corn, jelly melons and more than 650 varieties of potatoes are becoming increasingly rare. But these heirloom varieties can be grown right in your own backyard. Buy your seeds from a supplier like Seed Savers, a non-profit membership organization dedicated to conserving and promoting heirloom vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs.
WHY BOTHER?
Waiting till August to have a local watermelon rather than indulging in one shipped from Chile in May isn’t just about helping the environment. A dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy, according to a study by the New Economics Foundation. When businesses are not owned locally, money leaves the community at every transaction. Besides, locally grown produce is fresher, lasts longer and tastes better, and if you’re lucky, your kids might just end up liking their vegetables after all.
