<< Previous   of   Next >> Enterprise/CHRIS GOODENOW  (click to enlarge) Tim Crosby cuts local produce, including items from his own garden, at his home in Edmonds. Enterprise/CHRIS GOODENOW  (click to enlarge) A smorgasbord of locally-grown and locally-made produce and food products is spread out at Tim Crosby's home in Edmonds. Enterprise/CHRIS GOODENOW  (click to enlarge) Produce clerk Matt Swanson stocks locally grown pears at PCC Natural Markets in Edmonds. Swanson said that all of the store’s pears are grown in either Washington or Oregon.

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• EAT LOCAL: Getting the goods 11/18/09 • EAT LOCAL: Thanksgiving Recipes 11/18/09

CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, News editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

Eat local this Thanksgiving

It can start with a single butternut squash and blossom into a full meal

By Mina Williams
Enterprise editor

As South County residents plan their Thanksgiving meals, many will keep their dollars close to home while being grateful for the fresh abundance of the region.

“It just makes so much sense,” said Tim Crosby of Edmonds. “It's a no-brainer. What was the original Thanksgiving? It was the local people giving starving immigrants food.”

The Crosby family has committed to eating locally for Thanksgiving, in particular, over the past few years. They draw from their own garden, farmers markets and locally grown produce, cheese and meats at grocery stores.

Beyond feeding their ethic, going local also has produced a feast for their taste buds.

“The food is really tastier,” Crosby said. “It makes eating local that much better. For Thanksgiving, you have to put out a lot of food and you want it nice.”

Last year, more than 2,500 people — Crosby included — signed a pledge to have at least one locally grown food on the Thanksgiving table. Each person making the pledge represented about five people who would share the meal.

Cascade Harvest Coalition this year hopes to see 5,000 pledges in its “Eat Local for Thanksgiving” campaign (online at www.eatlocalforthanksgiving.org), representing roughly 25,000 people sitting around tables to savor a local meal. The Seattle-based nonprofit started the program three years ago to encourage omnivores to enjoy the holiday while taking a stand for local farms, a healthier environment and local economy.

“Eating local supports our local farmers and, by supporting our local farmers, we sustain our local economy,” executive director Mary Embleton said.

Growing awareness

It's an ethic that is in its prime.

This year's Focus on Farming conference, held Nov. 5 at Tulalip Resort Casino, drew more than 500 Western Washington farmers.

“Productivity and efficiency are the rewards as the economies of scale. But at what cost to the environment and the community?” said David Mas Masumoto, an organic peach farmer and author from Fresno, Calif. “The rich memory of flavor has been replaced by price. We have to put the culture back into agriculture. It's not simply about dollars and cents.”

Targeting taste buds

“It's all about the flavor. Local just tastes better,” said Barry Bettinger of Edmonds, who co-owns Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream in Maltby with his wife, Shahnaz. He hand-crafts ice cream, gelato, custard and sorbet using locally produced milk and cream and blends in flavors — berries, herbs, fruits — from area farmers.

The Bettingers are among several local artisan producers who say their success relies on local ingredients.

Lael and Doug Petersen, co-owners of Edmonds Winery, champion Washington state grapes for their vintages. When the Petersens started in 1999, theirs was the only winery in Edmonds. As sales grew from 10 cases per year to 1,400 cases this year, the Petersens moved the operation from their basement to a facility in Woodinville.

Perfect with a spicy turkey dinner, said Lael, is their 2008 unfiltered Gewürztraminer “Dirty Gerty” made with grapes from Lake Chelan.

How to start

Many culinary classes for the home-cook are starting to pick up on the trend.

“I eat local because I want to support my local family farms,” said Leika Suzumura, a PCC Natural Markets cooking instructor whose classes included the recent “Locavore's Holiday Table.” “I never knew that my food choices had such deep meaning.”

If that sounds overwhelming, start with small steps.

Crosby, of Edmonds, advises starting with one single dish made from local ingredients.

“The first year … we just served our own potatoes. The next year we added local squash. The third we added a turkey,” Crosby said.

That last Thanksgiving, Crosby, his wife Shelly, their two daughters, Lilly and Carolyn, and their guests enjoyed an heirloom turkey, a heritage breed grown by a local farmer.