Dear Umbra,
I live in New Hampshire, and I am getting
ready for the long, cold winter. I try to eat locally, but with no
year-round growing season here and such a dense population, most of the
food comes from elsewhere. I was wondering what I could do to reduce my
impact during the winter and how I can eat as locally as possible. Do
you have any ideas?
Diana
Durham, N.H.
Dearest Diana,
Mmm, just in time for Thanksgiving.
Hearken back to days of yore, ere yon freezer trucks and container freight hauled yon Cal-Mex foods
to thy door. What did New Hampshirites do 60 years ago or more, other
than live free or die? Stored winter vegetables and grains in a cold
cellar, and ate as much meat as they could, I presume.
There's nothing stopping you from doing the
same, if there's time for you to procure storage vegetables and other
produce such as winter squash, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic,
apples, beets, and turnips. Either you'll need to befriend a farm (or
farms) with a steadyish supply of these items, or buy a batch to stick
in a sawdust-filled barrel in a cold, dark part of your home, aka root cellar.
If you eat meat, find a local producer who can
supply you regularly in the winter or find room in your freezer to
throw in a partial pig or cow or what have you. I excuse you from
trying to find and grind your own winter oats and barley, but local
eggs may be available until the hens go on winter holiday. You also
could -- for future reference -- put food by in the summer months (with
the guidance of the excellent Putting Food By).
Canning, freezing, pickling, and drying are all proven, tasty
techniques for capturing a little bit of summer. Too late this year, of
course, but think about it for next year.
Mayhap you know where to look for local farms
to start this project, through your area farmers' market or
community-supported agriculture program. If not, the Northeast Organic Farming Association-New Hampshire chapter could help point you toward a willing producer.
Do those ideas sound insane? Easier than
hunting down and gathering up your own agricultural producers will be
using your local natural-foods store or co-op grocery. If any grocery
is sourcing local producers, it will be they. Ask at the produce
counter.
Eating locally in New Hampshire, though --
let's think about the specifics of that quest. For one, you'll need to
adjust your diet (I may be presumptuous in thinking of turnips as
outside your normal purview). For two, what is local to you? Is it
Strafford County? Is it New England? In the winter you may need to
broaden your concept of local to include not only your food's
producers, but your food's purveyors. If none of the producer-related
steps above work or entice, switch your winter focus from producers to
locally owned grocers. In an era of megastores and giant corporate
foods, all businesses in the local-foods chain need your allegiance.
Lastly, my food storage suggestions seem odd to
a modern household, but certainly the idea of stocking up the pantry
and taking fewer car trips will not -- driving less is another fine way
to reduce your winter impact.
Rutabagaly,
Umbra
On Eating Locally in Winter
-
Ask Umbra
By Umbra Fisk
Grist Magazine, Nov 20, 2006
Straight to the Source
