New Eat Local First Campaign connects eaters with more local food

Media contact: Laura Ridenour, Food & Farming Manager
lridenour@sconnect.org, (360) 647.7093 x106
          

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                         
August 19, 2011 – Bellingham, WA

New “Eat Local First” campaign connects eaters with more local food

Bellingham, WA – Sustainable Connections announces the launch of a new campaign aimed at connecting eaters and food buyers with more local farm’s food.
The Eat Local First campaign is a year-round way to connect farmers with more local market support, and a new label identifies local food for people at the places most buy food: grocery stores, restaurants and farmers markets.

“Our goal is to motivate people to buy more nutritious locally raised, caught and grown food, and to promote the farmers who grow it, and the stores, restaurants and farmers markets that sell it,” says Laura Ridenour, Food & Farming Manager. “Lucky for us all, this region is home to a growing number of farmers markets, and productive agricultural lands, with lots of family farmers selling to local businesses, and people want more.”

In a 2010 scientific survey, 94% of Whatcom County residents said it is important to purchase food produced by farmers in Whatcom County, and most said they would buy more if they could find it easily. The same goes for chefs, caterers and grocery produce buyers, according to Ridenour.

But so far, direct sales from farmers amount to only about 2-3% of food purchased annually in Whatcom County and in the Puget Sound region, according to the 2007 USDA Agricultural Census.

The Eat Local First campaign asks residents to dream big: What if 10% of our food eaten here is grown or raised here, and that local food is also good for you, good for the people who grow it and good for the planet?

“Grocery stores are where people get most of their food, so we are starting to reach toward this dream by creating an easily recognizable label for farmer-sourced and local products that have a majority of agricultural ingredients in them,” said Ridenour.
The Eat Local First label will signify that an item has at least 50% locally sourced agricultural ingredients – from farmers in areas surrounding Whatcom county, including Skagit, Island, San Juan, and Okanogan counties.

“As Whatcom County’s only community-owned grocery stores, we have featured locally grown produce for over 40 years, so we jumped at the chance to work with Sustainable Connections on the Eat Local First campaign,” said Jim Ashby, General Manager of the Community Food Co-op.

Partners in the campaign include farmers and the local restaurants, retailers, and food artisans who commit to tracking their food budgets, challenges buyers to purchasing more local food or ingredients from farmers, and to serving it to the public with the Eat Local First label.

Ridenour said the Eat Local First campaign is a natural fit for Sustainable Connections Food & Farming program because they work with over 200 independently owned food and farming businesses in Whatcom and Skagit counties, and the program aims to be a resource for building a sustainable local food economy. The new campaign is funded in part with multi-year grants from the Sustainable Whatcom Fund of the Whatcom Community Foundation and the WSDA Specialty Crops Block Grant.

 “It’s only with strong community support and partnerships that Whatcom can make the goal of 10% of food purchased in support of local farmers and fishers a reality,” says Sara Southerland, Sustainable Connections’ Food & Farming Outreach Coordinator. “So, when you’re at the grocery store, ask yourself – How much local is in my shopping bag, or if you are at a restaurant – How much local is on my plate?” 
As more businesses sign up to be part of the Eat Local First campaign, it will branch out to more restaurants, corner grocers and other markets around the county as well, Southerland said.

To get involved and stay informed, visit www.eatlocalfirst.org or find Eat Local First on Facebook at www.facebook.com/eatlocalfirst.

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