As I’m sure readers of this blog have gathered, I am a huge fan of local food, and by extension, of farmers’ markets, vegetable stands, and restaurants that aren’t chains. My reasons are varied. The food is fresher and usually tastes better; the food travels fewer miles and thus doesn’t use as much fossil fuel; the local economy is supported; and perhaps most important, when an area—state, town, or region—can largely feed itself, it has a wonderful security that bolsters it in good times and buffers it in bad times. 

I eat a lot of local food, especially in the summer, but Pat Ranzoni, a friend and a terrific Maine poet, makes me look like a piker when it comes to local eating. Recently, in response to an Earth Day email I sent, Pat wrote and described the various local foods she and her husband, Ed, eat. “Ed just came through the field with his first ever wild Tom turkey and has gone to tag it! Our son called it in which is quite a skill, plus wild turkeys are keenly alert, hard to hunt, so father and son are accepting congratulations. I’m so thankful for their hunting and fishing skills. Between the wild game and fish, and our gardens and foraging, we buy as little as possible at the market. I’m just now finishing up our winter’s supply of sumac wands I boil for Indian lemonade. Sour plant they called it. And we’re eating our best from the dandelions and other new greens—violets, clover and so forth. I read that the Natives in the mid-west used to have clover festivals in celebration of their return in spring—who’d’ve thunk it? Anyway, back to work!” 

Back to work, indeed. What an inspiration Pat and her family are!