Sometimes getting involved takes on a life of its own. Read about interesting projects and people who have dedicated themselves to the local food movement. If you have suggestions or nominations for Local Heroes to highlight, please let us know.

No Impact Man - Colin Bevan, NY
NYC writer Colin Bevan and his family spent a year eating locally and growing their own food as part of an attempt to create zero net impact on their community.

Animal Vegetable Mineral - Barbara Kingsolver, VA
"This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew... and of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air." - Barbara Kingsolver

Local Food Dude - Tim Cipriano, CT
As part of the Connecticut Farm-to-School program, Tim has brought farm-fresh food into the school system. His approach to convincing students that local and fresh vegetables are better than steam-tray hotdogs has been one of deep education. At the Dodd Middle School, Tim incorporated his food into the curriculum. Students learned to prepare dishes, to do nutritional and cost analysis of recipes, and to "market" new recipes to the school community.

Local Food Hero - Brett Olsen and Lindsey Rebhan, MN
Local Food Hero is a radio show (Saturdays 1:00-2:00pm AM 950 KTNF) for anyone who eats. Host Brett Olsen and producer Lindsey Rebhan interview local food heroes and explore the greener side of culinary worlds within Minnesota and nationally. They also interview local chefs, farmers and national policy makers as they revel in the joys of good food.

The 100-Mile Diet: Local Eating for Global Change - Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon, Canada
The 100-Mile Diet is a living experiment in local eating designed to connect people with their food, local farmers, seasonal eating and local landscapes. Canadians James and Alicia spent a year eating food produced within 100 miles of their home. Since then, they have spoken with communities all over the world that are working local consumption, one meal at a time.

2008 Jeff Fairhall Local Food Hero - Viki Sonntag, WA
The memory of Jeff Fairhall, a Washington local food entrepreneur and activist who died in 2007, is kept alive by Eat Local Now!'s Jeff Fairhall Local Food Hero Award. The 2008 title was awarded to Viki Sonntag for her outstanding work in the Puget Sound region, and the implications that her research holds for the global community. Viki is a practitioner/activist/researcher in alternative economics and founding director of EcoPraxis, a non-profit organization that collaborates with small businesses and community-based organizations to put sustainable community economics into practice.

EatLocalChallenge.com - Blogosphere, U.S.
EatLocalChallenge.com is a group blog written by authors who are interested in the benefits of eating food grown and produced in their local foodshed. Spanning the United States, the group is committed to challenging themselves to eat mainly local food for a specific period of time.

Homegrown.org - Social networking
HOMEGROWN celebrates everyone who pioneers a HOMEGROWN way to live, eat, grow, and express themselves. HOMEGROWN is a place where lovers of local food can learn from each other, ask questions, and show off how they dig in the dirt, grow their food, work with their hands, and cook and share meals - all things HOMEGROWN.

Page created January 2009