Eating Locally catches on

May 27th, 2010
By Joanna Santa Barbara

Organisers Joanna Santa Barbara and Tanja Pauls with baby Leenas, and Richard Hirst, the Good Bread Man

Forty enthusiastic local eaters shared their food and recipes last Saturday at Riverside community and Cultural Centre.

"Have you tried the chestnut chocolate pie?" "Delicious. I hope you got a caigua stuffed with feijoa and goat cheese before they disappeared."

The fragrance of Richard Hirst's (The Good Bread Man) new sourdough bread and the mellow jazz piano of Emery and Dawn Jones accompanied the conviviality.

There was food for the brain too. The event, under the auspices of Transition Town Motueka posed the question of why we should eat locally. Do food kilometres matter? Food tastes better and is more nutritious when it has travelled only a short distance from garden or farm to plate. We can get to know the growers and seek food with no or minimal chemicals added.

We contribute to reducing climate change when we don't eat imported food, and we prepare ourselves for fossil fuel scarcity in the future by strengthening local horticulture and agriculture, and learning to grow our own food. The latter, in particular, helps children know where food comes from, and begin to understand soil, plants, seasons. Strengthening the local economy is seen as important, rather than having money sucked out of the region by food importers.

Participants spent some minutes identifying what they consumed that came from out of the region. They discussed how such items could be replaced by local products. Grains, sugar, tea, coffee, chocolate and spices were the difficult items. Some people are getting their dairy produce from local dairies. Prizes were awarded for the best menus using local ingredients.

Food for the soul was supplied by Northern Lights music group - local, of course.

Local businesses contributed to the success of the event: The Good Bread Company, Mapua Country Trading Company, Arcadia Organics, Fresh Choice supermarket, Partington's Vineyard, Tree Dimensions, Riverside Community.

Transition Town Motueka is developing a local food map featuring producers and retailers within about 60km. It can be viewed here. This is intended to develop over the next few months and then to be published in attractive form for both residents and tourists. Input is encouraged. E-mail suggestions to me at

>> , to be added to the page. [If this link doesn't work, use this form instead]

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