September Eat Local Month

September Eat Local Month 

Every year, the Food & Farming team at Sustainable Connections invites the community to take a month to explore and enjoy the bounty of local food in our region during Eat Local Month to connect people with food that is grown, raised, harvested, and made right here in Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, and Island counties. Join us all month long as we highlight four industries in our local food system. We’ll engage our communities in learning about local agriculture, and encourage them to explore and enjoy: 

Farm Week: September 1-7

Market Week: September 8-14 

Visit local farmers markets and grocers, and GET A TASTE of what’s fresh, along with recipes to try at home.

Seafood Week: September 15-21 

Learn about our region’s rich seafood offerings, and GET A TASTE! We are happy to partner with SeaFeast, and Bike NW for some Sea-To-Table Fun!

Restaurant Week: September 22-29 

GET A TASTE of our region’s best from our local restaurants when you order their September Eat Local Month specials crafted with fresh ingredients from local farms and food producers.

Participant Benefits

Participants reap the benefit of inclusion in our Eat Local Month promotions through Sustainable Connections & Eat Local First media channels: websites, social media, newsletters, and materials, and co-promotion opportunities with other participating food + farming businesses and community organizations.

There are several ways to participate:

  • Be a featured Agritourism Farm
  • Be a featured Market/Grocer
  • Be a featured Eat Local Month restaurant
  • Sponsor Eat Local Month

Be a Featured Farm

Farm Promotions will be focused largely on agritourism farms that are open to the public for a minimum of 8 days during the month of September, and/or that sell at local markets. Not open to the public? We still want to promote you!

  • To participate, simply sign-up below, and update and/or create your listing on the WA Food & Farm Finder no later than Aug 20, 2021
    • Agritourism farms:
      • Make sure to select that your farm is ‘Open to the Public’
      • Make sure to check your business hours
Sign Up!

Be a Featured Restaurant

*Featured restaurants must be: locally-owned, and, current members of Sustainable Connections. Visit our membership page for more information.

1. Eat Local Month Specials 

  • Have one or more items on your menu throughout the month of September that is comprised of at least 50% local ingredients. Our definition of local is: food products that are grown, caught, raised, and made in Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan and Island counties.
  • Label local specials with the Eat Local First fork icon
  • Name the local farms/producers featured.

2. Co-Promote

  • Make sure you tell your staff about Eat Local Month, and why it’s important to you to be a part of it! 
  • Commit to using your marketing channels (website, social media, emails, etc.) to co-promote Eat Local Month. We’ll send a toolkit with plug & play content, and will also be posting and sharing your posts that tag @eatlocalfirstnw #EatLocalMonth2021
  • Update and/or create your listing on the WA Food & Farm Finder
Sign Up!

Sponsor Eat Local Month

Promotions include 5 weeks of ongoing advertising and promotion comprised of:

  • Eat Local Month Video
  • Harvest & Beer Loop
  • Restaurant Specials
  • Farm to Table & Sea to Table Tours from Bike Northwest
  • Digital advertising opportunities

email maressa@sustainableconnections.org for sponsorship info

Community Partners

Want to help spread the word?  Letting your community, and customers know that you support our local food system means a lot to them, and us! We’d love to supply you with a promotional toolkit and a poster to display at your business. Sign-up to be a community partner!

Thank You to our Current Eat Local Month Sponsors!

​Bellingham Farmers Market Association

Email maressa@sustaianableconnections.org for sponsorship information