How many miles did you drive today? Chances are, the food you ate did a lot of your traveling for you. The average food travels 1,500 miles between farm and plate―just a little farther than a drive from Seattle to Fargo, ND―and requires a lot of fossil fuel for its journey.

To spark discussion about the impact of this system, Sustainable Ballard rallied more than 80 Seattleites to take a 100-Mile Diet pledge during the month of August. The "diet," developed by concerned folks in Vancouver, B.C., encourages participants to stick with foods produced within 100 miles of home. Sustainable Ballard provided recipes, a restaurant guide and more, helping pledgers achieve their goals to eat locally 100%, 75% or 50% of the time.

"We are encouraging people to ask, 'Where does this come from?' not laying down rules about what you can and cannot eat," says Jenny Heins, president of Sustainable Ballard. "I thought what I was eating was 50% local to begin with, but actually looking at everything, I found it was probably more like 20%." The pledge introduced her to several foods she now loves, like locally caught Sockeye salmon, but she admits that it was tough to find basic foods she likes, including butter. This challenge reinforced Heins' and others' commitment to changing the food system.

If you didn't sign on this month, don't fret―August is just the beginning. Sustainable Ballard will continue to look for Dieters throughout the year, while leveraging the movement's collective power to encourage local farmers to produce more variety, and to push Seattle stores and restaurants to offer locally sourced foods. So get on board ... you could even have a 100-Mile Thanksgiving! 

"Imagine," Heins says, "that we increased the demand for wheat and beans and nuts and sugar beets (which all grow very productively in the Puget Sound) and butter! More wheat farmers means more bakeries don't need to get wheat from Montana. People in Spokane will say 'Look what Seattle is doing―we can do that, too'―now the Winthrop wheat farmers don't have to drive to Seattle to find a market and they can spend more time with their families. This is the direction I see this initiative moving."

Want to learn more? Come to the 100 Mile Potluck at 6:30 p.m. on August 27 at the Sunset Hill Community Club and help celebrate the close of the month. You're invited whether or not you participated in the Diet. Guests and speakers will exchange stories from the month while sharing dishes made using locally grown ingredients. You'll also find information about the 100-Mile Diet at Sustainable Ballard's Annual Festival, Sept. 29-30.