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Local Beet Editor At Large Robert Gardner, one of the founding members of LTHForum.com, loves to eat. He�s discovered that the way to eating bliss is by eating local. Beyond pleasing the palate, Gardner and his family have discovered the many other benefits from eating local. About five years ago, he and his family entered a quest to eat (nearly) all their food from the Upper Midwest, a food zone Gardner calls the Big Ten Conference. Gardner started chronicling his eat local habits at his blog, www.vitalinformation.blogspot.com, and he was one of the original contributors to the Eat Local Challenge blog (www.eatlocalchallenge.com ). In the summer of 2008, fellow foodie and blogger, Michael Morowitz suggested they team up and expand the noodlings of a locavore.
They launched the Local Beet (www.thelocalbeet.com) to provide a Practical Approach to Local Eating. The site quickly became the premier resource for those seeking to eat good foods. Readers found the most complete farmer�s market finder in the Chicago area, including markets stretching beyond Illinois�s boundaries. They published a guide to CSAs (community supported agriculture farmers), and then published a specialized guide for late season/winter CSAs. Each week, the Local Beet provides a Local Calendar highlighting what�s in season, special markets, and other events of interest. The Weekly Harvest collects links from around the world of local eating. Various other news and events are captured on the Local Beet�s Blog. Michael and Rob recruited fellow travelers to give expertise on local beers, backyard farming, sustainable cooking, and the insights of a market farmer/vendor. Others published on the Local Beet include an area chef, the owner of a store specializing in local foods, and a writer who hit nine markets on one Saturday. The Local Beet continues to grow and expand to meet the needs of its readers. Look for a writer arguing on behalf of local wine in 2010.
Rob has worked with a variety of groups and programs building better local food systems. He worked closely with the Eli�s Farmer�s Market and their 2009 lecture series. He was on the Steering Committee for the Slow Food Chicago Daley Plaza Eat-In in 2009, and in 2009, he served as the moderator for Green City Market�s 2009 Locavore Challenge Town Hall.
Rob actively seeks to take the message of eating local and the Local Beet�s mission of a practical approach, to a wider audience. He contributed an essay to the Chicago Tribune�s Perspective section, and he as spoken to a range of audiences including Family Farmed Expo, League of Woman Voters, and Midwest Foodways Alliance. He was recently featured on a segment on ABC�s new LivewellHD network�s �Save My Planet.� Rob and his family�s eat local adventure has been written up in the Chicago Sun Times, Medill News Service and the Oak Park Wednesday Journal. He and his family�s eat local experiences were also featured in a video essay, a �Day in the Life of the Village�, for the Oak Park Oak Leaves. They have appeared on radio segments for WBEZ and WCPT and a TV segment for WBBM. He continues to relate the eat local lifestyle in the Local Family column on the Local Beet.
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