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El Reno woman beginning challenge to eat local foodsEL RENO, Okla. (AP)--Margaret Hochla is a pioneer woman in the 21st century. The mother of four, who is also a pastoral associate and minister of education, youth and music for St. Andrew Catholic Church in Moore, is discovering just how challenging it is to find locally grown foods in the dead of winter, as she forges ahead with her yearlong sustainable living challenge. She has encountered challenges, successes and economic concerns since becoming one of 15 people taking part in Locavore Nation, which began in January. Hochla was selected by "The Splendid Table," public radio's only national program to explore a variety of food topics. Based in St. Paul, Minn., the show is hosted by food historian Lynne Rossetto Kasper. More than 5,000 people from across the country volunteered late last year to take part in the challenge: to eat at least 80 percent local or regional sustainable, organic and/or seasonal foods, and to record their experiences through blogs. "Across the nation, this has been a movement, especially in the last five years," Hochla said. She said it's easy for Oklahomans to find local food in the summer, with all the farmers markets, fruit stands, family gardens and acreages. "We're supposed to try for 80 percent of our family's food coming from local or regional sources," Hochla said. "We're supposed to try to meet that level. And we're keeping track of how we're doing, in terms of percentages. We have this log we keep and, if you read some of the blogs, you'll know that everybody's discussing it right now: What is local? Is it (food grown within) 500 miles, or is it 250 miles? In other words, what is local? "I don't know yet," she said. "As far as my own mind is concerned, it's regional. Regional and as fresh as possible. So that would mean stuff from Arkansas, from Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, maybe a little piece of Louisiana. I would consider that local. But, for the purposes of Locavore Nation, I think once they settle on what a mileage is going to be, then that's probably what it will have to be. We'll see. "Especially in the central part (of the country) when there are larger distances between communities, if you're in Nebraska or Oklahoma or Texas, that's a lot different than eating locally in California or the Shenandoah River Valley or the Ohio River Valley. That's much different, not only because of the region and what can be grown there, but it's different in terms of distances." Kathleen Davies, an environmental consultant who is coordinating the Locavore Nation challenge for the radio show, said the 15 participants are already finding local food sources or making their own food. "What is surprising, some are making their own yogurt--and they're having fun. They are sharing recipes. One lady from Minneapolis is making her own root beer and blogging about how fun it is," Davies said. But Davies said she's also surprised to learn how many greenhouses are growing hydroponic foods. The subject of heating those greenhouses in winter and the cost of the fossil fuels to heat them versus transportation costs to ship foods long distances will be studied as a result of this challenge. Hochla insists she's not on a crusade to change the ways of people who don't have time to cook more naturally or use more unprocessed foods. "I am interested in saying you could eat better and it doesn't take as much time as you might think, if you're a little creative." She buys her dairy items, including milk without hormones, from Braum's. She buys local eggs at a health food store. "We were very excited to be accepted to do this," Hochla said. Two of her four children still live at home--Thomas, 16, and Christina, 11--and help prepare meals because Hochla's job keeps her on the go. "They're used to me making a yellow tablet list of what we're going to have to eat and when we should start things. So I'm very proud that they're quite capable of roasting a butternut squash, making a soup." The family bought butternut, acorn and pattypan squashes at the food cooperative in October. These keep well in cool storage to use through the winter. Hochla was buying peppers and other produce from a Hennessey grower who had greenhouses, but that source has since closed. The food cooperative has provided some lettuce, as well as mushrooms, but tomatoes to dry, freeze and can have been scarce this winter. "Now I'm still on a search, and I find it a challenge," Hochla said. "In Oklahoma, there's not a problem with local meat; there's a problem with local fish. We used to have a tilapia resource, but I don't know what happened there. You can still get some local catfish. We really love fish. We're trying to eat two fish meals a week, but that's really a challenge because I don't really like catfish." Hochla said her family has eaten buffalo meat, which they like, although the meat didn't lend itself well to making sausage. She also uses less expensive cuts of beef but knows how to cook away the fat and keep the flavor. In trying to buy the leanest yet least expensive cuts of meats, Hochla has encountered other concerns. "I do have a concern that people who can afford it can eat like this. People who can't afford it can't eat like this. We don't have very much money at all. We're a single-income family for now, so we don't have a lot of monthly disposable income. We buy our clothes at the thrift store so we can afford to send our kids to Catholic schools. "Also, I have a concern that, yes, we are doing this, but is it just an elitist deal? The reason I signed up for this was so I could learn how to get better, so I could learn to make it more accessible." After the challenge ends, Hochla said she wants to be even more intentional about where she's getting her food and what she's doing with it, as well as how much she's spending on food. Hochla said the challenges she's faced in the project haven't discouraged her one bit, but she doesn't want the yearlong effort to be "an aging, hippie, elitist deal." "I'm not (an) expert in all this," she said. "I'm just plain me. I have a little knowledge, in terms of I read a lot. I don't have the best answers for anything. I just have these concerns." 3/17/08 Date: 3/13/08 Advertisement
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