Eating Locally?

There is a lot of hype on the web lately about eating locally. A lot of folks (pages and pages of folks on the net) are committing to the 100 mile diet, the 100 foot diet, the Dark Days Challenge, or some other variation of the idea. There are tons of groups and bloggers (check out Life Begins at 30 for one example) going for reducing the gap between farm and table, and by doing this they support local agriculture, add to the local economy, eat healthier food, reduce consumption of pesticides, reduce their carbon footprint, become more conscious consumers, and teach our kids great lessons. I am so interested in this subject that I am reading Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally to find out more about what it means to eat locally and how the heck to do it. I will report on the book once I've finished it.

I think a lot about the food I am feeding my family. I buy the best quality food I can find and afford, and appreciate it when I find local sources, like my free-range eggs from a local mom (until I get my own chickens!), raw milk from a local homeschooling family, local meat from the butcher, and, of course, veggies from my garden. But I also buy a lot at the grocery store, and when I've gone there lately I've felt exhausted by the choices I have to make. What do I want vs. what can I afford? What is available for me here that is good, or at least passable, quality? Do I really need all this? What would it be like to eat with the seasons? What about all the garbage I'm creating with this packaging? What if we could save money by not getting all this? Is this really sustainable? Aren't there others around me who are growing or making this product, and how do I find them? So, I'm looking for answers to these questions, or at least to come to a place of peace with my food choices.

Is eating locally a better choice? Is it practical? I certainly think it is beneficial in many ways, but how does it work in real life? Anyone have some ideas?

I just came across the blog of someone who has done it successfully: Northwoods Locavore.

Further Reading:
Eating Better Than Organic
Eat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Mealsby Michael Pollan