Food for Thought

I have just been reading that Michelle Obama is concerned that she cannot get local food around the White House. Having lived on takeaways whilst campaigning she is keen to have good local food introduced into their kitchens. Perhaps the next thing is a Farmers Market in the White House grounds.
However around Northfield there is not quite the same problem as Tom Baker has found out. He lives in Cotteridge and is compiling a directory of locally produced food which is well worth a look at. Tom goes one better and instead of buying bread he bakes his own in an earth oven he has built for himself in the back garden. He is also very keen on cooking and is hoping to set up cookery classes to help ween people away from packaged precooked food.
Buying local and cutting down on packaging is one of the things we need to do to cut down on our carbon footprint and make us more self sufficient.

Local Food

Why do people buy fruit and vegetables from abroad when at this time of the year there is so much local produce available?
A walk in the countryside or even down an urban canal towpath will reveal backberries galore all waiting to be picked. Mixed with some local apple what is better with custard! For later in the winter some blackberry jam or jelly is reminder of the past summer.
A stroll round the market will reveal that most local produce are in abundance at present. Runner beans are dripping off the plants and courgettes and sweet corn are being sold by the bowlful. All are lovely cooked straight away but make ingredients for other things that keep. We have just made and stocked up with chutney because we had more rhubarb and victoria plums than we knew what to do with.
Bringing food in from faraway countries at this time of the year is producing carbon dioxide that we are trying to reduce so lets ask ourselves “is it really necessary” before we buy.