Locavores

Definition of Locavore:
A person who chooses to consume foods that have been sustainably produced, processed, and distributed within a local region (such as Lopez Island) in order to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular place. 
 
Fun Fact:
Locavore was the Oxford English Dictionary’s 2007 Word of the Year, combining the ideas of eating and ecology in a new way. “The word 'locavore’ shows how food-lovers can enjoy what they eat while still appreciating the impact they have on the environment,” says Ben Zimmer, editor for American dictionaries at Oxford University Press. 
 
Famous Locavores:

Barbara Kingsolver, author of Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
This 2007 bestseller chronicles her family’s year of eating locally—growing as much as they could and procuring the rest from local farms.
 
Deborah Madison, cook, writer and cooking teacher
Madison's specialities are seasonal, vegetarian recipes made with fresh, local vegetables. The founding chef of Greens Restaurant in San Francisco and the author of a dozen cookbooks, including The Greens Cookbook, she currently teaches, writes and blogs. 
 
Jessica Prentice, chef, author and original Locavore
One of the originators of the term "Locavores" and the Bay Area group by the same name, Prentice is a champion of locally grown, humanely raised, nutrient-rich foods. An accomplished chef, she is also the author of Full Moon Feast, a recipe book that follows the thirteen lunar cycles of an agrarian year, from the midwinter Hunger Moon to the bounty of the Moon When Salmon Return to Earth in autumn.Full Moon Feast inspired the Lopez Locavores to name the monthly Evening Meals at School after phases of the moon. To learn more, visit WiseFoodWays.com.
 
Alice Waters, pioneering cook, restauranteur, and food activist
After 25 years of featuring local food in her restaurant, Waters created the Chez Panisse Foundation to support school lunch reform and an educational program that uses food to nurture, educate and empower youth.
 
Learn more about Locavores and eating locally:
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. October is the Eat Local Challenge month, and this website has ideas to implement eating locally in your own community.
 
Seed Savers Exchange, a non-profit organization of gardeners, is dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.
 
Slow Food, a non-profit, international organization, was founded in 1989 to promote local food traditions and rekindle interest in the food we eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.
 
Locavores.com is the website for the original Bay Area group that started the Locavore movement and coined the term, "Locavores."
 
Renewing America's Food Traditions, or RAFT, is an alliance of food, farming, environmental and culinary advocates who have joined together to identify, restore and celebrate America’s biologically and culturally diverse food traditions through conservation, education, promotion and regional networking. A book by the same name, edited by Gary Nabhan, is a call to recognize, celebrate, and conserve the great diversity of foods that gives North America its distinctive culinary identity.