Midway of the Eat Local Challenge Month

To be honest, I haven't really thought the Eat Local Challenge through before signing on 5 days into the start of Challenge. My pantry had many "leftovers" that I didn't want to go to waste, so yes -- I've been eating non-local foods. Actually, cleaning up the leftovers and anticipating my new eating habits when the last bits of what I've grown accustomed to eating for 30 years will no longer be (i.e., cereal!). However, the Challenge has taught me a great deal - like thinking about every product I consider purchasing; thinking about the amount of money I'm saving by NOT purchasing the unneccessary foodstuff like chocolate, or cheese; thinking about how easy it is to buy local here in central PA - BUT, there's very, very little organic. And lastly - mainly because I'm so pro-organic, researching exactly where the "organic" foods come from under brand names like Nature's Promise - little did I know that the natures Promise Corn comes from China! I was shocked, and as a result, have been planning a HUGE garden already for next year. Here's what I learned from the Eat Local Challenge:

• How to make butter -- no need for olive oil.
• How to make buttermilk -- useful in numerous recipes
• NOT to buy cereal
• How Giant stores have very few things local -- I found mushrooms and cider, that's it!
• How Giant's "Nature's Promise" organics come from far, far, away.
• How much I adore the raw milk from the farm 1.67 miles away.
• How much I adore my local Oprah organic eggs.
• How much eating local is exactly how my mom and dad grew up.
• How much I appreciate canning and freezing my own organic food because nobody really grows it locally.