Albuquerque local food

I'm interested in the issues of  local food and healthier food, and this website is my way to share some sources and to encourage others to find local sources of healthy and delicious food.  

Best of all, grow it yourself. Vegetable gardening is a great way to control some of your food supply, and nothing could be more local than vegetables from your own garden or yard. Below, potatoes and carrots grow along my front walk among  California poppies, dianthus, and herbs.

   Here, my husband stands in the middle of his food supply.                       

What I Do

I buy and eat local food, and produce some of my own food, and then communicate to others what I've learned. I  seek out local (and some more distant) agricultural products that I believe are tasty and healthy, and let others know a little about them. I also encourage people to gain the skills needed to grow a little bit of food, because I think it's emotionally healthy to have that connection with your home ground and your food supply. Most of us are busy people with jobs, families, and other commitments, but we can do a little bit of growing for sheer pleasure. When we choose not to grow food or can't for some reason, we can still make intelligent choices about what sort of farming  and marketing we want to support.

I don't pretend to be all-inclusive. I don't list anything unless I've grown and/or eaten it myself , and have had a chance to talk wih the grower or producer.  I'm happy to receive suggestions but can't investigate all of them, so my list is limited by my time.  My hope is that others will be stimulated to seek out their own local sources; that's how a vibrant local economy develops.

I'm a private person with no commercial or financial stake in any crop or product mentioned on this site.  I don't accept gifts from anyone mentioned or profit in any way. Literally, I do this for my health!

Local food: what is it?

Everyone has heard of the "fifty mile diet" or the "100 mile diet" but these concepts don't really work for us here in New Mexico. Our state is a thin green line running through a desert, and water conservation issues are crucial for us.  A crop grown 200 or 300 miles away in a fertile valley where excessive irrigation isn't required may be more water-wise, more sustainable, and more truly "local" than a crop from nearby.  The problems we face in considering our food supply are huge, complex, and shifting continually, so there are no simple answers. I think the best answer to the question "What is local food in New Mexico?" is "We're still learning."

   WHY LOCAL FOOD?

This fundamental question is not addressed on this website, because it's being addressed so continually in the news and in current books that most people are familiar with the issue in at least a basic way. If you aren't, Barbara Kingsolver's Book Animal Vegetable Miracle is a pleasant and painless introduction., and from there you can go on to study the issue in more detail if you get interested. My short answer to "Why local food?" is "Because we all need to think more about where our food is coming from and what it really costs."

Contact me if you have questions.