Food for thought: your lettuce comes from where?

Not the usual topic at coffee break, or is it?

Nowadays there appears to be more awareness of how far our food has travelled for us to conveniently purchase at the local grocery store. The 100 Mile Diet is a good example of this increasing awareness. The 100 Mile Diet refers to the buying and eating of food that has been grown, manufactured or produced entirely within a 100 mile radius of the home of the person who will be consuming the food. Such food is generally much fresher and of higher nutritional quality than food that has travelled hundreds to thousands of miles.

And then there is the question of who benefits from your dollars spent on the food you purchase. By buying local food you support local businesses that hire local people and this helps the local economy. And by buying directly from a local producer you help that person or family even more.

Most food producers are in the business because they love the land and working with Mother Nature’s bounty — not because it is a “get rich quick” way of living.

Local food producers are also ‘stewards of the land’ which means they take care of the land so that future generations can also benefit. By contrast many modern big business farming practices are based on making money, and they often pollute and destroy the environment. Who would you like to have your food dollar?

A challenge facing Williams Lake is to bring local producers and consumers together and to increase production of some local foods. The Williams Lake Food Policy Council (WLFPC) is presently working on strategies and a Food Action Plan to achieve this. WLFPC is a committee of community agencies, local business and farmers and producers.

Examples of strategies in the action plan include surveying local restaurants to explore the potential for supporting local food. Local food producers are currently being surveyed for the variety and quantities of foods that they produce.

A Farm to School Salad Bar program featuring local fresh fruits and veggies and meat was launched at Mountview Elementary in June/08. Workshops have been held to encourage home gardening and organic market gardening. Ways to expand and promote the Farmer’s Market and developing a business plan to support an all year around market partnership are the current priorities for the committee.

If you would like more information on the Williams Lake Food Policy Council, contact Tatjana Bates, Community Dietician at 302-5000.

So, in the meantime think of this: Williams Lake local food production: grow, buy local, eat fresh, enjoy.