Local Delicious

Hey gang, drinking beer just got a whole lot more local, thanks to the newly revived BC hops growing industry and partnerships with local breweries.

“Sixty years ago, the sight of workers harvesting hops in the fall was commonplace in BC, especially in the Fraser Valley, where as many as 4,000 seasonal labourers were needed to pick more than 1,600 acres that were under cultivation when the industry peaked in the late 1940s.

But today on the Saanich Peninsula, a dozen years after a prolonged price slump drove the province’s once-thriving hops industry to extinction, a fresh crop of locally grown hops is an exceedingly rare commodity.

Phillips is one of a growing number of BC microbrewers who, driven by record-high prices and unstable supplies in recent years, are seeking partnerships with local farmers to grow the essential beer-making herb on contract.”

Read the rest of the article at Granville Magazine Online.

Rocky Mountain Flatbread is hosting three share-the-proceeds events with Farm Folk/City Folk on February 2, 9 and 16, 2010. Rocky Mountain Flatbread has long been a supporter of eating local — they source much of the ingredients for their menu from local farmers.

Fund raise painlessly while you enjoy local and delicious eats.

I seem to be a magnet for dumb advertising these days.

Stating the not-so-obvious

But wait. Maybe it’s not so obvious to state the obvious anymore. A couple of summers ago my sister moved onto a farm just outside of town, taking her two young children with her (…which just seemed like a good idea).

Anyway, my sister was thrilled to have the space and grew a huge garden full of produce. One day that first summer she said to my neice, about four years old at the time, “Look honey, these carrots came from our garden.” My niece looked at her in that way only a four-going-on-14 year old can, and said patiently, “Mom. Carrots don’t come from the garden. They come from the store.” My sister was horrified!

So began a concerted educational program which included having the kids plant seeds and water them, assisting with harvest, and providing tours to all their visiting friends to show them where lunch was coming from.

If my four year old niece didn’t know where carrots come from, maybe we can’t take for granted that consumers will check to see if there actually are any grapes in their grape juice, or oranges in their orange juice.

The 100-Mile Diet Society of Vancouver has launched a fun, short, animated film, Home Is Where the Food Is, which follows every ingredient of a delicious and simple meal to its source.

“I visited a dairy farm, a mill/bakery, and a busy marina, all on Vancouver Island, and all within my 100-mile radius. I also spent time in the kitchen with Tina Biello, a busy working gal who makes time for her food, from growing her own veggies to learning about the production of local food for her favourite family recipes,” says animator Jody Kramer. “My film will make you feel hungry.”

The 100-Mile Diet Society and the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm have joined forces to explore how sustainable agriculture can help reduce climate change and nurture the environment.

There are a lot of reasons I like shopping local. I have been a passionate supporter of small business for as long as I’ve been in business (via my “real job“), I like to be part of making my local community economically viable, I like knowing that buying local has a positive effect on things global like carbon emissions, and I like to know what’s in my food.

Yeah, about that last one…

Remember all that scare about BPA, the nasty substance found in plastic bottles? There was quite the outcry and public awareness campaign with the result that Jill and Joe Average now know to choose plastic products that don’t contain the stuff. But did you know it also shows up in your food?

Yup, you read that right. Poison in our canned soup. Known to be toxin in small doses.

Sigh. I sure wish we didn’t have to goad and coerce industry into making their products safe for human consumption. I wish that were a given.

You can learn more about BPA in foods and how to make choices that allow you to live without it at Care 2 Make a Difference.

On the plus side, once we’re educated, consumers have the control here. How you can help:

1. Don’t buy food you know contains BPA — companies don’t make stuff people won’t buy;  and
2. Tell us about it — that’s what Local Delicious is here for.

Make sure your information is from a credible source, and not just someone trying to bad-mouth for personal reasons. Then tell your friends and let them know the source. The only way change has ever been effected is one step at a time. Be one of those steps.

Langara College, in concert with Village Vancouver, is hosting Fork in the Road, Cultivating Food and Community in Local Neighbourhoods this weekend, November 13 & 14. Participants to this workshop walk away with practical tools and ideas for involving friends and neighbours in local food issues and the inspiration to become involved in a neighbourhood food network.

Theatrical games and exercise are used to facilitate dialogue and personal change. Past participants have called these sessions, “Energizing”, “Fun”, “Mind-opening”, and “Empowering”.

Friday, November 13, 6:30 – 9:30pm and
Saturday, November 14, 9:30 am – 5:00 pm (workshop includes both sessions)
Langara College
100 West 49 Avenue, Vancouver
$50 admission fee
Register: 604.323.5322
Bring your own lunch and food to share

For further information, contact Leslie Kemp at 604.323.5981

Do you plan to attend? Please leave a comment and let us know how it goes.