Eating locally together
January 25, 2010
When Liv got interested in eating locally, she thought it would be fun to make that idea the center of a monthly pot luck dinner party. So, last spring, she invited a bunch of friends over one Saturday night. She served a pork loin from a pig that had been raised ten miles away, and friends brought greens from their gardens (an iffy proposition in Massachusetts that time of year.)
The event took off, and, in succeeding months, others offered to host it. But the group decided that anyplace in New England would count as being local. As well, exceptions were made for spices and cooking oil.
“I made it a sit down dinner ,” Liv says. “I think it’s better for conversation; sharing the food, talking about the food. It becomes more about the group, rather than a couple of people stuck in a corner, which is what happens at a buffet.” That tradition has continued.
The winter has featured more root vegetables and lots of fish, although the group has located a greenhouse nearby that harvests greens all year.
Soon it will be Liv’s turn again. To fit in all the new friends she’s made, she’ll be borrowing several card tables to set up all through her living room.
Mealtimes Matter Video
from Miriam Weinstein
About Miriam
Miriam Weinstein is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. As a journalist, she has won several awards from the New England Press Association. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, the Boston Globe magazine, Hope, and ParentSource. A former staff member for North Shore Weeklies and freelancer for Essex County Newspapers, she writes restaurant reviews and food columns as well as features on a wide variety of subjects. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with her husband and has two grown children.
The Surprising Power of Family Meals
In her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, Miriam Weinstein shows how this basic human institution helps nourish and strengthen our families today.