A Huntington Locavore's Survival Guide, Part I

WalMart, I have changed my number. Kroger, we must break up. I've decided the relationships have soured. I long for fresh foods, grown locally. I miss knowing where my veggies slept last night. I don't like eating food that's been around the block a few times or lies about its age. What's a girl to do? It's a scary prospect, but you go for a committed relationship. Not with the guy from out of town that has locations all over the country, but with a nice local boy.

This girl is committed to shopping and eating locally. A locavore. Also known as a locovore, but never a locuvore. I'm vegetarian; I don't eat locusts. I took eating locally for granted in my previous town (shout out to Austin). There were several restaurants that either provided locally grown produce, or solely used locally grown produce to create their culinary goodies. When I moved to Huntington two months ago I just started going to WalMart and Kroger like everyone else. The walk of shame back to my car (often without my eco-friendly bags) became easier with each trip. Last week I decided once and for all to support my local peoples (go with it). I spread the news to everyone I encountered. Then, the day of the commitment, I . . . I . . . I cheated. (red-faced) Not intentionally, of course. No one ever means to cheat. Sometimes it just happens. Hell, I hadn't even started seriously dating locally yet. Convenience and necessity pushed me to it. It's a poor excuse, I know. Hear me out, then make me eat GMOs.

A friend was visiting this weekend and offered to make us all a fine meal of burritos. I don't turn down someone else cooking me a meal. The guys are carnivores, so meat had to be provided. I could eat beans. We had all the ingredients, so cooking was just about to commence. We pulled the meat out of my mom's freezer and the icy coating looked suspect. The date: April 29, 2008. My mother obviously does not eat a lot of red meat. My friend looked at me and said, "WalMart?" My reply, "I hate my mom's bad meat for making me go to WalMart." So, off I went. And, I just dug the hole a little deeper by buying some TVP for me in addition to two pounds of lean beef. Sigh.

I am dating locally now. I am challenging myself to going local for a month straight. I want to prove that locavores can exist in Huntington. For local produce I have several farmer's markets from which to choose: Heritage Station, 14th Street, and Huntington's Kitchen (on 3rd Avenue).

Thanks to Yellow Goat Farm (www.yellowgoatfarm.com) I now own 1/14 of a goat and have access to yummy artisanal cheeses. They also have goat milk, soap and a nice selection of jellies. It is all quite delicious.

Although local grocery options are few, I know I have at least two. Travis, at Healthy Life Market (http://healthylifemarket.com/) inside Drug Emporium at the mall, is one of my BFFs. If he doesn't have something in stock he will do his best to order it for you. There is also Julian's Market (Mansour's in my past life) at 1049 12th Street. The staff are very friendly and helpful. I know that this is one place I can get those hard to find spices and herbs.

I felt much better about being faithful to my new relationships with my locals as I ate my herbed chevre salad and tikka masala veggies. It felt comfortable, like it was meant to be.