The Local Food Guide Has Arrived!

Forget Beaujolais Nouveau's arrival in the fall in NYC--the most exciting moment in local food here in Atlanta is when the new Local Food Guide from Georgia Organic's arrives! And it has! My visit to the popular, 100% certified organic, Morningside Farmers Market yesterday put a hot-off-the-presses copy of the 2007-2008 guide in my grubby little paws.

The 2007-2008 Local Food Guide includes listings about:

* Local farms
* Local restaurants with menus featuring local ingredients
* Farmers markets
* Grocers who carry locally grown and organic food
* CSAs (community-supported agriculture)
* Retailers
* Community gardens

What's more, the Local Food Guide includes a Harvest Calendar, which I find particularly helpful as a home gardener, plus a map of Georgia with the locations of all these local food providers clearly indicated. This will help greatly with my Summer Travel Plans! Stay tuned as I travel 100 miles east, west, north, and south within my foodshed this summer and report back on my discoveries!

There are definitions of the many terms being tossed around--for instance, did you realize that "heritage" and "heirloom" are really the same thing, although "heritage" usually applies to animals and "heirloom" usually applies to plants? Both refer to varieties that have been around for generations or have unique genetic traits.

And finally, there are suggestions of things you can do--mostly the usual suspects, such as supporting local farmers markets and all that jazz. But here's one I haven't tried yet--let your big, conglomerate supermarket manager know that you want fresh, locally grown food (okay, it didn't actually say that in those terms, but that's my take on it). So this week I trot into Kroger's and see if I can have a little chat with the manager. Kroger's carried TaylOrganics' blueberries last year, although I haven't seen anything local since, but I have hope. I'll report back.

To get your copy of the latest Local Food Guide for Georgia, go to Georgia farmers markets, Whole Foods and other retail locations, or download it from Georgia Organics. But I'd suggest getting a hard copy to appreciate the beautiful photos. Is that Chad the milkman in there? Here's his quote:

We farm for a living and we farm for fun; it's not really a job but a way of life.

The Local Food Guide Has Arrived!