(No Impact Week - Day #3) Please Sir...May I Have More?

The focus for Day #3 of No Impact Week is food.  For us, food is also our main area of consumption in terms of where we actually spend money.  It is a matter of making choices and setting priorities.  I am still wearing sweaters from high school but I willingly pay more for organic and local food.

Today we will go to the market at the Brooklyn Grange, a rooftop farm that is within walking distance from our house.  Why is it called Brooklyn Grange when it is located in Long Island City, Queens?  Did they think it would have more cachet to put Brooklyn in the name?  Although there are few thing us Queenites like better than to roll our eyes at the faux hipster borough to the south, it seems there is a more prosaic reason for the name.  Here is their answer from the Frequently Asked Questions section of their website:

When we started our company in 2009, we thought we had a site in Brooklyn locked down. We were all living in Brooklyn and put together the plan there, so the name made sense. In spring of 2010 we had to look for a new site; subsequently, we found our current location on Northern Blvd in Queens. At that point, however, we had already established an LLC under the name “Brooklyn Grange,” had begun using the name in public at our fundraisers and events in the winter and didn’t want to confuse the folks who had been following our progress and supporting our efforts. We’ve kept our name as Brooklyn Grange, but we are thrilled with our new home in LIC, Queens and have really enjoyed meeting the community there.

So there you have it.  They aren't snobs, just victims of the vicissitudes of the New York City real estate market.  And who among us hasn't had that experience?

When we started this experiment, I decided to allow myself to use whatever I already have in the pantry and fridge.  The No Impact Week began immediately after I returned from sesshin and it is safe to say that I was pretty much unprepared for it so that rule seemed sensible if we actually wanted to eat anything.  It has forced, nay - encouraged, me to be creative with what was on hand.  Although I have heard a few complaints from certain parties who shall remain nameless but whose initials are Fin and Lucy, I think we have had some decent meals cobbled together from odds and ends.  I am noticing that we have almost nothing getting tossed out because it has gone by its edible stage.  Plus it is fun to be forced to be creative in this way - I feel like a participant on Chopped.

Do you know where your food comes from?  What non-local item could you give up?  Bananas?  Avocados?  Coffee?  Ouch - that's cutting close to the bone!  Fortunately I have a large store of coffee in our cupboard so the most drastic sacrifice has not needed to be made.