Eat Local Challenge February Newsletter

We hope everyone is off to a good start in 2020 by committing to local food! February brings in most of the happenings in the boisterous Carnival Season. This leaves many of us traversing town in search of a coveted parking spot near a parade or a beloved king cake. Whether you're a die hard original or willing to venture into fillings such as candied kumquats, even boudin (!), there's no way to escape the king cake madness in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. There are even vegan, gluten free, and keto options available! King cakes are a great way to support local businesses! Whether you got the baby at the office and owe everyone the next one, or you're sending one to a relative that moved away, that money is pumped back into the local economy and helps keep those dollars local. We hope you're showing your out of town friends (and tourists) your favorite local food and bar establishments during Carnival Season. You can ideas by viewing our bar and restaurant guide on the website by clicking here. Kumquat is the filling that's on everyone's minds this year! Pictured: Left, Spiced frangipane and kumquat king cakes by Chef Bronwen Wyatt of Bacchanal and The Elysian Bar (credit: @ohbwyatt). Right, Levee Baking Co. pecan, candied kumquat and blood orange queen cakes featuring ceramic fèves from Jackie Brown Ceramics (credit: @leveebakingco).  Who has the best king cake or king cake inspired dish? What are new ones you've tried this year? What are your classic favorites? To fill or not to fill? We want to see how you're making your mark on the local food system during Carnival Season. Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your progress with others! The challenge will remain free to participants in 2020! We've put together a sponsor package for anyone interested. Sponsors help keep the challenge free for participants! There are options to host or sponsor a workshop promoting your service or product, sponsoring a local popup for any of our events, providing snacks for the Urban Farm Bike Ride, prizes for Local Foods Bingo or Trivia, and much more! The sponsor package can be viewed by clicking here. In addition to being fat free and low in calories (less than 60 calories in one cup), strawberries are packed with tons of vitamins and minerals. Ounce for ounce, strawberries have more Vitamin C than citrus fruit. Strawberries also contain folate, fiber, potassium, and other antioxidants (phytochemicals that can reduce your risk to certain cancers and heart disease). The seeds of the strawberry are really the fruit while the red fleshy part is the receptacle that holds the parts of the flower together. On average, there are 200 tiny seeds on every strawberry. Strawberries are the most popular berry in the United States. Ninety-four percent of American households consume strawberries. On average, Americans eat more than three pounds of fresh strawberries each year plus nearly another two pounds of frozen strawberries. Early this month, plant cool-season vegetables, such as beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, Swiss chard, collards, lettuce, mustard, potatoes, radishes, spinach, snow peas and turnips. Plant seeds of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in greenhouses or under lights indoors. Many hardy fruit trees, such as peach, pear, plum and apple, should be pruned in February. There often is a specific way to prune your tree, depending on the type you're growing, so do some research before pruning. Plant hardy trees, shrubs and ground covers in the landscape now. This will give them time to make some root growth before the heat of summer. Fertilize young shade trees and fruit trees. Clip ground covers back before new growth appears to remove unattractive foliage, rejuvenate the plants and control growth. (Gardening tips provided by Dan Gill of New Orleans Botanical Gardens.) The National Good Food Network Conference will be held in New Orleans this year March 10-13 at the Intercontinental Hotel. Tickets and information can be found by clicking here. Are you interested in hosting a workshop featuring your product or an event at your place of business? We'd love to curate an event around a particular skill or product for you! Contact us and we can chat about hosting or showcasing an event during the Eat Local Challenge this June or if you are interested in being our monthly Eat Local Challenge meet-up destination. 2020 is our ten year anniversary! This year is a big one and the calendar is sure to fill up soon, so get in touch soon! Has the Eat Local Challenge had a profound impact on the way you view the local food system? Maybe it's changed the way you make conscious food purchases or informed you about a farmer or market you didn't know prior? We want to hear from you! Send us an email including your business/your name and let us know how the challenge has helped you and we'll include it in the Reviews and Impact section on our website!  View the bars and restaurants that have stepped up and committed to sourcing local products by clicking here. Is your establishment missing from the list? Reach out to us and let us know so we can add it! The Eat Local Challenge is a program of the New Orleans Food Policy Advisory Committee. NOLA FPAC is a broad-based coalition of organizations, businesses and individuals shaping public policy to improve equity, opportunity, and collaboration in our local food system. Click here to join the NOLA FPAC bimonthly newsletter to stay up to date on happenings, policy alerts, and more! Crescent City Farmers Market is a go-to source to keep eating local year round!  Click here to view the weekly market locations and to see where to pick up CSA boxes throughout the year. Click here to download the app to track everything market related right from your phone! The Challenge remains free, but your donations allow us to grow and make June as successful as possible. This year is our 10th anniversary and we are hoping to make Eat Local bigger and better than ever! Please consider a donation of any size.  Donate to the Challenge! Got a great local recipe? Share it with us for inclusion in our newsletter, facebook page, or on the website!  Tip of the day: Store your produce well. Often times, it seems that produce only lasts a few days before it wilts and rots.  Properly stored, you’ll have more time to use everything you buy.  You’ll make fewer trips to the market, and ultimately spend less.

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