Localvores Plan Pair of Potlucks, Promote Use of Local Produce
By Martha Slater

A group of "localvores," local residents interested in promoting the purchase of locally-grown food products, is planning two public potluck "local lunches" this fall at the Randolph Cooperative Market on Pleasant St. The lunches will take place Sunday, Oct. 15 and Sunday, Nov. 12 at 12 noon.

Organizer Lisa McCrory, who is secretary of the Co-op council, also works as a dairy and livestock tech advisor for the Northeast Organic Farming Assoc. (NOFA).

"After the local potluck we had in August following our successful Localvore Month, we decided we wanted to keep the momentum going," McCrory said. "Anyone is welcome to come to the lunches and we urge them to make as much as possible of the dish they bring from local products. We’re hoping to have the lunches on Sundays on a monthly basis, so people can get together, share recipes and sources for local foods, and help us build a local product list. We’ll also share recipes in a newsletter."

McCrory said that she also hoped to arrange for local suppliers to do tasting events, and noted that on Saturdays and Sundays in December, the co-op would showcase local products and craftspeople. Any vendors interested in learning more about this should call the Co-op at 728-9554.

Co-op manager Patty Pendergast notes that, "The more you support your local suppliers, the more it helps them provide living wages for local residents. Money spent locally stays locally and it’s the key to economic independence for our area and our state."

The two woman are enthusiastic about the advantages of buying and eating local products.

"I think people are becoming much more aware of and concerned about where their food comes from," McCrory said.

"With worries about the safety and security of food supplied by the large industrial complex, we have more control over both of those if we buy from local suppliers," Pendergast noted, adding that the Co-op stocks as much locally-produced food as possible, and is always looking for more suppliers. She plans to post a sign showing where people can buy meat from local area farms, and will also have copies of a directory of grass-fed products from the Vermont Grass Farmers Assoc., and the NOFA-Vermont Organic Farmers’ Directory available.

The Co-op check-out counters also have donation canisters for the NOFA Share the Harvest program, which raises money to help financially challenged families buy local foods through subsidized Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares. CSA famers provide up to 22 weeks of local produce to their members, as well as weekly recipes, seasonal gatherings at farms, and the opportunity to attend gardening and food production workshops throughout Vermont.

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