"If every US Citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That’s not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences. Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast."

—Steven Hopp in Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Morning, everyone. We at Food as a Verb – David, Sarah, Alex – have a little idea for you. For us.

People are always tossing around the term "local food." Unfortunately, this can be a fiction, a form of greenwashing that both Bill Keener and the Tampa Bay Times – good company there – call "Farm-to-Fable." (Read Laura Reiley's outstanding reporting.) Food touted as "local" really isn't.

Fortunately, in Chattanooga, it's fairly easy to find restaurants and order items that are genuinely made with local ingredients. Double-fortunately, Food as a Verb fills the gap between fiction and reality: we're taking you places, introducing you to people, identifying the actual farm-to-table process.

But what else can we, as individuals, do to support our farms? How can we get closer to our food?

The concept of buying and cooking local can feel a little bit overwhelming. Eating seasonally may introduce you to some foods you aren't familiar cooking and can feel intimidating. But we're thinking about simple, practical ways to put this into practice.

Here's our idea + challenge: let's each prepare one fully local meal a week.

One meal with as many – if not all – local ingredients as possible.

As I (Sarah) prepared my breakfast this morning, I decided mornings just may be the easiest place to start. (Or, if you are like me, this is often what my lunch looks like.)

• Toast from Niedlov's
• Blueberries from Hernandez Farms
• Eggs from Sequatchie Cove Farm
• Tomato from my backyard

Minus the tomato, all items were purchased at the Main St. Farmers Market on Wednesday, where you can buy everything you need – milk, cheese, fruit, vegetables, meat, honey, tea, even soap to wash up with – for your local meal.

The more I began visiting markets and growing food, the more I would accidentally realize that I was eating a plate full of food grown right here.

And that felt good.

What could it look like if all 1500+ of our readers committed to preparing one fully local meal a week?

Could it eventually lead to one every day?

What could that look like for our local food landscape? For our farmers? Our own wellbeing?

We'd love for you to share your local plate with us! Send it over to us on Instagram or email us a photo.

Each Wednesday, we offer a regional farmers' market guide. (See below.) We also publish our Food in our Phone series. Today, we're combining them with our One Local Meal idea.

Have a fabulous week, everyone.

All photography by Sarah Unger (sarah@foodasaverb.com)

All design by Alex DeHart

All words by David Cook (david@foodasaverb.com)

Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in sponsorship or advertising opportunities? Email us: david@foodasaverb.com and sarah@foodasaverb.com

This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.