coming home from the 2nd anniversary of a the 100 mile radius potluck
It's hard to believe its been two years since we started going to the 100-mile-radius potlucks here in Richmond, Indiana.
Everyone brings a dish ideally sourced from with 100 miles, but over time we've found there are some standard cheats: olive oil and salt.
In the photo above you can't see also carried two folding chairs like we did two years ago. (The prior photo is linked above). The two chairs are strapped to the other side of the rear rack. They were easily dropped into an 18-gallon Rubbermaid container which is there.
The major differences in the bike experience from two years ago are of course that the box bike has been replaced with this electric Yuba Mundo, and my wife is piloting it instead of me.
If we were going to load of the box bike with the baby plus cargo and needed to get some place quickly, that notably lowered the odds of the box bike being used, if we went by bike at all. That means that kind of bicycle use was more limited to the weekends, when there were two of us and we had more time.
Electric assist has been a game-changer-- my wife regularly choses the bike for trips with the baby plus cargo, even when she needs to get there quickly. As a result, we celebrated our 400th mile on the Yuba Mundo today, completed in about two months (including a week vacationing without our bicycles and some other out-of-town travel.) Most of those miles included carrying the baby, and were for short, around-town trips. It represents replacing quite a number of car trips. I'm curious now what percentage of trips that we take by car now. Perhaps I'll have the family record our transportation modes for a week and see what happens.
This is such a cool idea! I'm very curious about the potluck, so hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions.
ReplyDelete1) I noticed that you mentioned olive oil and salt weren't usually included in the 100 mi radius, but what about other spices? Or do you only use herbs that people grow themselves, etc?
2) Are drinks included in the 100 mi radius?
3) At first I thought that the 100 mi radius referred to the bike ride to get there - now that would be tough :) Do you have any guidelines about transportation for getting to the potluck? For example, do a lot of people ride bikes?
4) Is the potluck only done annually? I'm in a few supper clubs which meet monthly and I think it would be a great idea to do something similar for at least a few of the dinners!
Thanks - love the photos!
That is a really great idea. I read a book by a Seattle couple who decided to only consume products that were completely created within a 100m radius of their home. I was thinking about doing it until I got to the part about having to GIVE BEER AND COFFEE- not going to happen! Not forever anyway, but I'd be down with doing in once a year.
ReplyDelete1) I noticed that you mentioned olive oil and salt weren't usually included in the 100 mi radius, but what about other spices? Or do you only use herbs that people grow themselves, etc?
ReplyDeleteThere is no strict rule, you just do the best you can. Sometimes people show up and say "I was visiting my parent's last week in Michigan, and this came from their garden.". That's still in the spirit of the event, even if it's not strictly local.
Salt and Olive oil are ingredients which show up in a *lot* of recipes, and don't have good alternatives locally that we are aware of.
2) Are drinks included in the 100 mi radius?
People make mint water, beer, juices, kombucha and other drinks locally.
Like with food, there's no strict prohibition on bringing a non-local
drink.
3) At first I thought that the 100 mi radius referred to the bike ride to get there - now that would be tough :) Do you have any guidelines about transportation for getting to the potluck? For example, do a lot of people ride bikes?
There are no guidelines about this, but pairing local food with local transportation (bicycles) seems natural.
4) Is the potluck only done annually? I'm in a few supper clubs which meet monthly and I think it would be a great idea to do something similar for at least a few of the dinners!
Actually, it's done monthly. We've met every month for two years now! We
surprised ourselves by keeping the local food and participation
going through the winters, but it worked out!
Living in the SF Bay Area makes something like this pretty easy. We make just about any tasty edible you could ever want to eat within the boarders of California. It is hard to point to quite why, but eating locally makes you feel so much better.
ReplyDeleteLiving in the SF Bay Area makes something like this pretty easy. We make just about any tasty edible you could ever want to eat within the boarders of California..
ReplyDeleteIf you live in SF, then a hundred-mile radius would allow you food from about as far north as Chico, and as far south as Fresno. That appears to leave more than half of California that's outside that distance.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions Mark! I'm impressed that you guys have been able to continue during winters when choices of foods may not be as plentiful. I'm definitely going to see if the supper clubs I'm involved in are interested in doing something similar.
ReplyDeleteMark- Yep, and within that area, I could buy dairy and meat (goat or cow), eggs and poultry (including ostrich), citrus, nuts, just about any produce (including kiwis and rambutans), beer, wine, olive oil and salt. The only thing that would be really hard would be grains. If a small exception was made for grains, I could buy organic brown rice from 150 miles away : )
ReplyDeleteCalifornians are truly blessed when it comes to food.
this is making me hungry :D
ReplyDeletethanks for all your comments +what a rad global community of bikers we are!!
xxo.m
Mark, Hopi and Lena have been at the heart of the potlucks from the get-go! While most people still drive to get to the potlucks, their dedication to coming by bike inspires others to do the same.
ReplyDeleteThe potluck has been a great way for us to learn about our local ecosystem and the farmers in our community. I hope others will try it - you'll love it!