100 Mile Challenge Starts Monday

Time for another food challenge. Same kind of thing I did before, except this time around I can only eat food that was grown or raised within 100 miles of Spokane. The group doing it is much larger than before, 15 in total. Thankfully, with the local harvest in full swing, this is the perfect time of year to do this type of challenge.

While getting produce that is grown locally is pretty easy to do, things like flour and cheese are more difficult than expected. Also, staples like spices and salt are off the table. Coffee is off the list as well. I was told that there are some loose teas that would be OK, but none have any caffeine. Doing a strict 100-mile diet seems to be next to impossible unless one severely limits all of the little things we take for granted (sugar, oils, just about any baking aid).

So I ventured out to farmers markets and natural food stores over that past few days to get stocked up for the coming five days (as opposed to the usual seven). Some of the growers and ranchers I have purchased from include Olsen Farms, Anderson Produce, Rocky Ridge Ranch, Front Porch Produce and Cascade Creek Farm. I also have a small garden in my apartment courtyard to draw from. The two items I would really like to be able to find within 100 miles are butter and cheese. I’m pretty sure I can track down some cheese but from what I hear local butter is next to non-existent.

I may do posts about my progress over the next five days, but the bulk of the content I put out will be on Twitter using the tag #7vs7.

Good luck to all the contestants. Maybe we will even get some coverage by the local media.