It makes sense intuitively that when we buy from a locally owned store, that more money would stay in the local economy. Well, it turns out there is hard empirical evidence to support that intuition. A study commissioned by Michigan's Local First showed quite a…
Here's some wisdom from the Onion for getting through the day: - To keep your mother happy, seat her directly across from her one good child who actually did something with his life. - Splurge and get the more expensive turkey; then, make sure to…
NPR has an eye opening report on the common use of roxarsone in poultry like that big Thanksgiving turkey that's thawing out in the sink right now. Roxarsone has been widely used in the poultry industry to help meat birds grow faster and to fight…
Some helpful words for a Thanksgiving feast from Wendell Berry: People who know the garden in which their vegetables have grown and know the garden is healthy will remember the beauty of the growing plants, perhaps in the dewy first light of morning when gardens…
As the above chart shows, sweet potatoes at one time had a small niche in the American dining repertoire. But after WWII for, some reason they fell out of favor. It could be because we started eating so much cheese: and chicken... But there are…
Friday, November 26 will be celebrated by most as a way to get the Christmas shopping season kicked-off. A lesser known way to celebrate the day after Thanksgiving is to pay homage to Buy Nothing Day. It's not that complicated. It just means buying nothing…
Go watch this lovely video that offers a window into how the Incredible Edible program in Todmorden, England is transforming the city's food culture, which happens to include a community garden popping up in a graveyard (at around 4:07 in the video.) I love the…
The New York Times has done a great service by writing a story on the Estrella Family Creamery in Washington State, as an example of how the current national debates about small farms and food safety land in the real world. (Go here, here, and…
I was surprised yesterday to find that Year of Plenty, the book based on this blog, now has a page at Amazon and all the other major online outlets. I guess the publisher is getting things in place even though we're still a ways out…
The USDA has created a new tool to map all the 6200 farmers' markets in the U.S. The snapshot below shows a map of the country with a red dot for every farmers' market. Here's one for Washington State.
PJC brought this story to my attention about two accused bank robbers that also happen to be eco-bloggers who dubbed themselves the "Urban Survivalists". They blogged about green living, backyard chickens, and canning applesauce. They describe themselves as your average idealistic young couple; We have…
The Wall Street Journal has a write-up on a new trend of yard-sharing. Am I just being sensitive or does the opening paragraph make locavores sound like some aristocratic class of nerdy food snobs? There could hardly be a loftier culinary class than that of…
I woke up this morning at 4:15 am so I could get over to the Second Harvest Inland Northwest warehouse and do some live interviews with KXLY. I was helping get the word out about the Mobile Food Bank distribution today between noon and 2…
First there was extra-cheesy pizza, now this story from the Onion; Days after the accidental passage of a bill allocating $30 trillion in federal subsidies to soybean producers, a massive tide of the protein-rich legumes has flooded the nation, crippling transportation networks, commerce, and public…
On Monday I wrote up a post on the much heralded New York Times article, While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales. This kind of story is the bread and butter of the fast evolving food blogosphere, of which Year of Plenty is very…
One of the enduring critiques of locavorism is that such efforts to eat local via farmers' markets, food co-ops, and CSAs are a luxury of the well-off foodie elites. The naysayers have been quick to point out that low-income families with limited resources cannot afford…
The headlines have been blaring all over the internet since the New York Times reported, While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales. The story highlights the work of an organization called Dairy Management to promote extra cheese on Domino's Pizzas. Here's how the NY…
First there were the carrot vending machines pretending to distribute junk food in HIgh School cafeterias. Then there was the vending machine that grows and distributes hydroponic lettuce. Now along comes the live crab vending machine. I wonder what's next?
On Wednesday, November 17 there will be an initial community meeting to discuss current zoning laws and draft new zoning language for backyard chickens in Spokane County. The meeting will convene at 5:30 pm at the Fresh Abundance Store, 2015 N. Division St., Spokane WA…
This video tells the story of how Christian missionaries from northern Thailand are working with Palaung refugees from Burma to develop sustainable farming practices among the people. When our family visited Thailand at the end of 2008 we went to one of the villages in…
A new law has been approved in San Francisco that forbids telling toys and fatty meals as a package deal. The measure will make San Francisco the first major city in the country to forbid restaurants from offering a free toy with meals that contain…
The public debate about food has run into a surprising crossroads, with some heralding the potato as the hero of the local food movement and others villifying it as a scourge on poor families. I took the above picture at Spokane's recently opened Five Guys…
The Worldometers site takes mind-numbing statistics and gives them a real sense of urgency by updating them in real-time. For example, you can watch the world population grow right before your eyes and you can witness the remaining supply of oil in the world disappear…
The Year of Plenty blog was created by Craig Goodwin in the winter of 2008 to chronicle the experiences of his family as they sought to consume everything local, used, homegrown or homemade. That journey was a wonderful introduction to people and movements in the Spokane area who are seeking the welfare of the community through local foods, farmers markets, community gardens, sustainable transportation, and more fulfilling and just patterns of consumption. In 2009 and beyond the blog will continue to report on these relationships and practices, all through the eyes of a family with young children. Craig manages the Millwood Farmers' Market, is a Master Food Preserver and Pastor at Millwood Presbyterian Church. Craig can be reached at goody2230@gmail.com
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