The Locavores Inspire a Nationwide Movement
- by tribe
As much as the Eat Local Challenge (our annual celebration challenging our chefs to make one meal completely of local ingredients) has become ingrained in our culture, it was not an original idea when we began the event in 2005. We were inspired by a group of women in San Francisco who called themselves the Locavores. These women didn’t invent the idea of eating locally but they created a culture around it. In fact, Locavore was selected as the 2007 Word of the Year in the New Oxford American Dictionary. The Locavores have inspired people all over the country to take their Eat Local Challenge and blog about it. I would even hazard a guess that their idea was the impetus for Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Now the New York State Department of Agriculture has gotten into the act. What a great example of Margaret Mead’s often used quote "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."
– Maisie Greenawalt, Vice President