Athens' 30 Mile Meal brings a new definition to the term 'locavore.' Photo provided by Athens County Visitor's Bureau.

By Ellee Prince, CG Lifestyles & People

Some might think “gourmet” when they bite into a steaming pizza pie made with a spelt crust and topped with bright green asparagus, creamy feta, Gruyere and thick crispy bacon. But John Gutekanst, owner of Avalanche Pizza on East State Street, thinks “local” – from within 30 miles, to be exact. He created this pie using ingredients from local food vendors that partner with the 30 Mile Meal, a project initiated by the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACCVB) to promote ‘super-local’ eating.

People dedicated to only eating food produced locally carry the title locavore with pride. Locavores believe the benefits of only eating foods produced within 100 miles of their home apply not only to their health, but to the environmental impact of food production and a thriving local economy.

According to the USDA’s 2010 Local Food Systems report, “[c]onsumer demand for food that is locally produced, marketed and consumed is generating increased interest in local food throughout the United States.” Because of this, grocery stores now clearly label local produce, which is usually stocked somewhere near the equally-popular organic section. Its popularity earned it an award when the word ‘locavore’ won the 2007 Word of the Year with the New Oxford American Dictionary. There’s even an app to help locavores identify places to eat and shop. The concept of eating food only produced within a 100-mile radius has caught on across the nation, but here in Athens it has been narrowed down even further.

“There’s something special going on here,” Natalie Woodroofe, manager for the 30 Mile Meal, said of Athens. She sees Athens as a unique community, with an unusually large number of food producers that surround neighborhoods filled with people who care about the implications of corporate food in America. This has enabled the project to be a micro-locavore promotion.

Athens businesses, like Avalanche Pizza on East State Street, have begun taking the 30 Mile Meal challenge. Photo by CG Lifestyles & People Editor Sarah DeCarlo.

Gutekanst writes about the 30 Mile Meal project on his blog, The Pizza Goon. “These are people who, in a very short time, have promoted the use of sustainable local foods in a 30-mile radius of Athens,” he said.

The 30 Mile Meal project is a collaboration between the ACCVB and the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet). With over 130 vendors partnering with the project, Woodroofe called it “the most local of locavore initiatives in the country.”

The project connects vendors selling local food with consumers looking for that food, creating a community that promotes both aspects of the locavore movement.

“30 Mile is a brand – an umbrella brand that all these vendors can use,” Woodroofe said. Avalanche Pizza uses products from various local resources, making it a restaurant that locavores can frequent with a clear conscience.

Even large establishments like Ohio University have adjusted their menus to include local foods. “The motivation really has to do with the efficiencies that are gained by making the products ourselves as well as the fact that we can truly control the quality of what we produce,” said Executive Chef Matt Rapposelli. “Plus, it is a good way for us to further support the local community.”

According to the USDA’s report, “[t]he concept of local food may also extend to who produced the food: the personality and ethics of the grower; the attractiveness of the farm and surrounding landscape; and other factors that make up the ‘story behind the food.’”

So why go local? Most locavores will tell you how much fuel is used to transport the average meal, or how many chemicals and pesticides are used to grow and preserve that meal. They will probably say that the local economy is healthier when its residents put their money back into it. Some can give you the name of the farmer from whom they buy their bacon, milk or kale. They might even recognize the farmer’s face.

In our “just pop it in the microwave” society, it might be difficult to imagine eating super-local. Yet, buying and consuming food produced across the nation is relatively new. “This isn’t anything radical,” Woodroofe said. “We are just going back two generations.” Woodroofe remembers her grandmother lived as a locavore without conscious decision – it was just the way of life to grow your own food, can and dry it or purchase it locally. Her grandmother was able to put a face to her food because the butcher, farmer and miller were her neighbors.

“We have a relationship with food at least three times a day,” Woodroofe said. “How is that relationship changed when you know more about your food?” She answers her own question: “It gives your food a face.”