Goal for the new year

So this year instead of our regular new year's goals, you know the ones like eat better, lose weight, exercise more, etc.  Our family of six (mom, dad, four boys ages 10, 7, 4, 6 mths) decided to make our goal a pledge for eating locally for one year.  We are allowing our food consumption to come from a tri state area: SC, NC, GA.  Some of you may be familiar with books of people who have pledged similar goals; however, most of those situations took place on farms in rural agricultural areas. We live in a neighborhood on less than half of an acre in a city.   But, we believe we can make it work just as well, with a few adjustments here and there, i.e. no goats in our neighborhood.  We are already pushing the limits by keeping our flock of six laying hens in the backyard!  We also have pledged to decrease our household waste down to one 13 gallon trash bag a week.  Why these goals?  First of all food taste better and is better for you when it has not traveled cross country or cross ocean to arrive on your plate.  Support for your local farmers and businesses, and knowing the face behind the food and/or product you are consuming.  Eating what it in season and appreciating it in that season.  Really asparagus and strawberries are not available in December!  Why decrease trash output, simple, there is no "away".  We live on the "away"! Ok, enough preaching, this blog site was created to keep friends and family up-to-date on our progress not to preach.

Jan. 1st started out pretty easy.  Collards from Johns Island, Organic Brown rice from Georgia, Field Peas from upstate SC, turkey breast from a local man in Summerville, SC raising turkeys, and deviled eggs from our beautiful hens in the backyard.  Oh, and the best part, homemade chow chow from my husband!  We made plenty of everything so we could have meals for a few days.  So far no protest from our boys.  I forgot to mention, everyone is allowed three exceptions to the tri-state pledge.  However, so far the only things that have made the list are olive oil (no local olive oil producer), coffee, and Duke's mayo (Virginia).  If you know of any local producers of products we can support please pass the word along to us.  We are still working out the details of obtaining fresh raw milk.  Bummed out we cannot have a milk goat in our neighborhood, we really wanted the experience of milking ourselves.  Hoping to find someone we can barter manual milking labor in exchange for fresh milk.