NH Eat Local Month 2018

Throughout the month of August, New Hampshire Farm Bureau (NHFB) joins with 70+ partners throughout the state to highlight New Hampshire Eat Local Month — a month-long celebration of local food and New Hampshire farmers and producers.

“New Hampshire residents, and visitors alike, are showing unprecedented interest in local food, and this month-long celebration offers a great opportunity to feature New Hampshire grown foods and farms,” said Gail McWilliam Jellie from the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food.

With 70+ partners working together to bring you great NH Eat Local Month festivities, it won’t be hard for you to find a way to get involved!

All month long, beginning August 5th, the New Hampshire Food Alliance and NH Eat Local are inviting you to participate in the #NHEatLocalHunt Instagram scavenger hunt. This fun, interactive way to celebrate local agriculture can also win you some great prizes. So, log in to your Instagram account and start snapping photos! Full details of how to participate, prizes, and sponsors can be found here.

New Hampshire Harvest of the Month has been promoting eating locally sourced foods in Northern & Central New Hampshire all year long with their Harvest of the Month restaurant & market promotion. The promotion includes 8 farms, 6 restaurants, and 4 markets featuring locally sourced items each month from May to November. New Hampshire Harvest of the Month’s Steve Hobbs says it’s easy to support this virtuous cause and gives 5 easy reasons to get on board, “Local foods are fresher, better for the environment (less energy expended through transportation), help preserve natural scenery and open spaces, support a vibrant local economy, and foster community and connection.” Take a look at the full press release or visit their website for more information.

And NHFB is getting in on the celebration as well with our 2018 Summer Picnic and Candidate Meet & Greet co-hosted with the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association. Join us on August 7th at J + F Farms in Derry for a delicious cookout with farm fresh hamburgers, corn-on-the-cob, salad, and more. You can find out more information and register for the event here.

The Associated Women of NHFB (AW) are hosting a Family Fun at the Farm Day on Saturday, August 25th at the Equine Discovery Center in Raymond. Here you can enjoy a day filled with fresh produce and other farm products, see live animal demonstrations, meet some of your local farmers, and much more. “The Associated Women’s event, Family Fun at the Farm Day, will let people see, taste, and feel what local farms are doing!” said Ruth Scruton, AW President. “It has only been a couple of generations since most of the food we consumed was bought local. Eating local is good for your economy and environment.”

If you miss any of those great events, you can venture out on your own in search of locally grown fruits and vegetables or even locally raised meat products. Conveniently, you can find a listing of some NHFB member farms offering these items on our website (Fruit and Vegetable Producers, Locally Raised Meat).  NH Eat Local Month also coincides with National Farmers’ Market Week, honoring farmers’ markets all across America August 5th – 11th.