Could you live on a purely local diet for 30 days?

Kiwis living eat a diet of purely local food, sourced no further away than a 200 km from their homes this April, as part of the relaunch of Happyzine.

The Eat Local Challenge is designed to raise awareness about the story of our food.

There are two ways people are participating in this challenge – they are following the rules (scroll down), keeping a food diary, sending us in blogs about their experiences and in the running to win a massive prize pack (worth hundreds of dollars) of Kiwi made food OR they’re doing it the chilled out way – and tagging along for the journey.

How long?  The challenge runs this April for 30 days.

Why?  To honour the story behind the food.  Because buying local (by this we mean within your own community, or, buying Kiwi made kai) brings economic, environmental, and social benefits, and because it’s fresher, you get more goodness with each mouthful.

Who inspired the idea? Nelson City Fresh Choice supermarket source a lot of its food from within a 200 km radius.  If they can do it, so can you!

Nelson City Fresh Choice displays these signs through their supermarket.

Some useful stuff to know: Official participants are invited to send in photos, recipes and blogs about the highs and lows of their experience at least once a week.

They are also encouraged to receive help from the public, who may want to give them ingredients they find hard to source.

One non-locally grown and produced ingredient such as oats, wheat, something that might not grow locally is allowed through-out the challenge.

Participants are also allowed 5% non-local ingredients in each meal, so people can use salt and pepper and some herbs and spices.

Local support people will be assigned to support and monitor the participants in each region. They can visit at anytime to make sure meals are locally sourced.

The winning team or individual will receive a prize pack of Kiwi made food worth hundreds of dollars.  Stay tuned for the final details of the yummy prize!

To sign up, email: [email protected]

For Official Entrants – the Mighty Fine Print!

Happyzine Eat Local Challenge guidelines:

1.All food must be sourced from within a 200 km radius of your home for 30 days except for a) up to 5% non-locally sourced food per meal – eg to cover salt and pepper b) One non-locally sourced extra ingredient, that can be consumed throug out the entire month, eg a grain.
2.You must be available for a visit – by media or one of the Happyzine eat local experts (we will identify them to you, and we’d need to be in touch about your timetable) through the month.
3.You can participate as a single person, or a group eg a family
4.You can access the food anyway you want so long as it’s legal, safe and kind! Get creative. You can trade, barter, use complementary currencies, kiwi dollars, beg from your friends and family or receive food donations from members of the public who support your mission.
5.We would love it if you would send us photos of your experiences, recipes, blogs, to share with our readers.  This is how we decide who to send the sustainably produced prize pack too (keep reading, this will make sense).
6.You must be prepared to record a list of everything you eat in a food diary that our local expert can look at, including information about where the food was sourced and the miles that each food item has has traveled so we can keep track of your progress. Some of this information will be shared with the public.
7.If you accidentally eat food from beyond the 200 kms you must record the amount of food miles that the food has traveled.
8.You must enter this challenge with the understanding that you are solely responsible for your health and well being. Happyzine doesn’t not take any responsibility for your health or well being – though we will cheer you on and support you as much as we can, in all manner of ways!
9.The winner (though you’re all winners) of the yummy food will: Have the most supportive comments on their blog entries, the least food miles and will ultimately be chosen by Happyzine editors and local experts.  He/she or they  will receive a prize pack of sustainably produced Kiwi made food which will arrive in their letter box in exciting and delicious packages!
10.The challenge starts Wednesday 1st April at 7am and ends Thursday 30th April at 7pm. The winning team or person will be announced Monday 4th May.
11.To enter email [email protected] with a brief introduction to your team and how you intend to make it through the 30 days!