Month: February 2017

By Board Member Amy Pritchard

Oh, Arkansas winters! Last weekend, I sat on my porch in the 70 degree weather and planned my garden. This weekend, we’re reminded it’s still winter!  February reminds us that spring is just around the corner, but we’re not quite there yet!

Even though the spring vegetable season has not yet begun, you can still make a great local meal.  Chili is my favorite winter meal, because they are so easy to make with whatever you have on hand. Some weeks, I make complex meals from scratch. Other weeks, I’m too busy to even think about cooking. A chili is a great option for either: you can make it ahead for the week, or make an elegant meal.  Chili is very forgiving: just throw in whatever you have in whatever ratios you prefer, and you’ll have a great meal!  

I based this week’s recipe on Minimalist Baker’s 5 Ingredient Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili following the general instructions, but substituting in the ingredients I had on hand.  I used butternut squash, but the market still has some sweet potatoes available.  I added canned tomatoes instead of salsa. While I had planned to cook the black beans from scratch using ALFN’s bulk black beans, I ended up using canned beans.  For my spices, I chose chili, cumin, and chipotle (I love the smoky taste of chipotle. For added depth, add a canned chipotle in adobo sauce).  Let it all simmer together, and, voila!

The Arkansas Farmers’ Market Association announced the winner of its “Arkansas Best Market Partners” contest at the organization’s annual meeting in January. Christ Episcopal Church is being honored for its decade-long partnership with the Arkansas Local Food Network. Arkansas Local Food Network’s board members nominated the church for its role in sustaining the organization since it was a fledgling online market.

Beverly Dunaway, president of the Arkansas Farmers’ Market Association said the annual Best Market Partner awards are an opportunity to show appreciation for partners who provide important opportunities for farmers’ markets.

Katy Elliott, one of Arkansas Local Food Network’s founders states, “Our partnership with Christ Church has been instrumental to the success of our farmers market. Early on, they provided us with an affordable space and our connection to the congregation has helped us to build, expand and sustain our programs. We couldn’t continue to connect Little Rock with fresh, local foods without a partner like Christ Church.”

In addition to sharing space, church members are enthusiastic food shoppers and volunteers at the market. Going above and beyond, Christ Episcopal Church’s partnership offers Arkansas Local Food Network a unique opportunity to source healthy local foods for the church’s Green Groceries program benefitting lower-income families. Recognized as one of 13 “Good Food” organizations in Arkansas by the James Beard Foundation and FoodTank in 2016, the Arkansas Local Food Network owes much of its success to its strong partnership with Christ Episcopal Church.

For more information about farmers’ markets in Arkansas contact your local cooperative extension agent or visit the Arkansas Farmer’s Market Association website.

Once upon a time, our family dinner tables were adorned with in-season dishes made from backyard gardens or a neighbor’s farm. This simple way of eating has vanished, replaced by a highly complex food system designed to provide convenience and year-round food availability.

While it’s nice to mindlessly pop into a supermarket and not have to think about what food is in season where we live, this lack of awareness comes at a price. Many of the items we purchase from the supermarket have traveled thousands of miles (usually from another country) to get to us. They’re also not fresh. The dizzying array of chemical tricks we’ve developed to keep food looking good (can anyone say “1-methylcyclopropene”?) means that a “ripe” apple in the produce section may actually be months old.

Why should we be worried about our complex food system?  Our food purchases make a impact on our environment, health, and local economy. The Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture estimates that most of our meals travel 1500 miles to get to our plates.

1500 miles. Let’s illustrate this. Here are some of the things I might shop for in a typical day:

Bananas

Dominican Republic to Little Rock: 1749 miles

Avocados (because, guacamole)

Mexico City to Little Rock: 1445 miles

Coffee

Columbia to Little Rock: 2,380 miles

I’m going to stop there, because those three items alone have already traveled over 5,574 miles to get to me (because we haven’t even factored in the distribution centers for Supermarkets). By that time, my food might has well have come to me from Timbuktu. Literally.

 

This means that each of our meals costs WAY more than the number on the grocery bill, because we have to factor in the economical and environmental cost of the fossil fuel burned and carbon emissions over those 1500 miles. A study by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Iowa estimated that “growing and transporting 10 percent more of the produce for Iowa consumption…would result in an annual savings ranging from 280 to 346 thousand gallons of fuel”.

 

When we make a conscious effort to source more of our food locally, it’s better for everyone. It doesn’t have to be difficult either – Little Rock is home to some fantastic farmer’s markets and CSA’s (including ALFN’s Little Rock Food Club!). Here’s some examples of how far the food at our market travels to get to your home in Little Rock:

Apples

Lonoke to Little Rock: 27 miles

Beef

Center Ridge to Little Rock: 63.4 miles

Eggs

Atkins to Little Rock: 57 miles

Spinach

Vilonia to Little Rock: 37.6 miles

Let’s make an effort to improve our communities, our health, and our environment by choosing to eat more local foods!

 

We know that everyone needs a little inspiration in the kitchen from time to time, so we put together a list of the ALFN board and staff’s favorite food blogs to share with you! What are your favorite go-to food websites?

The Kitchn

Nourished Kitchen

Budget Bytes

Gimme Some Oven

Cookie + Kate

NY Times Cooking

Nom Nom Paleo

Thug Kitchen

Vegan Yum Yum

Smitten Kitchen

Lucky Peach