2007 Word of the Year – “Locavore”

No doubt about it, more and more American consumers are becoming keenly aware of the concept of food miles, which as we know is the distance food travels from where it was grown to where it was processed to where it is ultimately eaten. The term has even been scaled down to food feet, which is the case with more and more foodservice operations that supply their menu with foods from their personal garden. In any event, new words and phrases are being added to the American language, such as the “Locavore,” which was declared by the Oxford American Dictionary as its 2007 Word of the Year, to describe the sustainability movement and those that are a part of it.

Based on most sources, the locavore is someone whose diet consists of food grown or produced exclusively within an area most commonly bound by a 100-mile (and as much as 250 mile) radius of their home, which constitutes their "foodshed." They usually shun large supermarket chains, opting for farmer's markets and local gardens instead. Some are totally serious about the eating radius and will not even drink coffee, eat bananas, etc., if not grown with their local foodshed. According to about.com, locavores choose to eat within their foodshed to be able to create a greater connection between themselves and their food sources, resist industrialized and processed foods, and support their local economy.

So, to those of you who have been teaching students to establish relationships with local farmers to stock foodservice operations we at FELC applaud your efforts. To those who are not, please consider doing so quickly because the locavore walks among us and nowwhere near as elusive as Big Foot.