One of my favorite farmer advocacy groups, Northeast Organic Farming Association (of New York), is launching a locavore challenge for the month of September. From their website:

The NY Locavore Challenge is a first of its kind, month-long campaign aimed at engaging consumers across the state in actively supporting the local organic food movement.

The Locavore challenge starts with the theory “vote with your dollar,” and takes it a few steps further, by appealing concerned citizens to participate in a wide variety of events and challenges that support their local economies, encourage organic and sustainable growing practices and propel the movement. The aim is for 5,000 people state-wide to participate in the challenge this year.  New this year, we are launching a 30 Challenges in 30 Days calendar to help guide consumers in exploring the challenge each day during September.  The calendar will include daily challenges, recipes, tips, events and more.

So it is that I’m am going to attempt to meet this challenge. To be honest, it is not the food I find daunting. At least 80 percent of my food and drink is local (and during the summers, that percentage is over 90 owing to the greenmarket and CSA offerings that slam my fridge). I can scour the market for fresh pasta, for example, which is one of the few staples in my pantry that is not usually a local food. And—while it may be fuzzy geography—I usually buy locally roasted coffee beans and gave up sugar about a year ago; that only leaves a handful of spices that will challenge me during the challenge (if I make my own celery salt with local celery, that counts, right?).

No. It’s not the food. It’s the daily challenge and persistently blogging about it. I know my following is small, but I honestly believe that a writer writes for him/herself first. Only then will an audience follow. And as I have noted, while I blog pretty much daily, my posts are eclectic and scattered. I don’t have a “day job” that supports my writing efforts. Writing is my day job.

However, I have been looking for ways to improve my focus (including diet and exercise), and this seems a good way to go. If I can eat local and blog about it daily, I will have come a long way. Baby. (Not a smoker, but just kinda sorta had to.) You can join the NOFA-NY Locavore Challenge here. And find the challenge calendar here.