When it comes to food, Chenango County has more to offer than people think.
To highlight Chenango’s bounty of locally produced food items – and to encourage people to spend their dollars within the community – Opportunities for Chenango and Cornell Cooperative Extension are putting on an “Eat Local Challenge” Sept. 10-16. Equipped with a handbook and an eat local “passport” to guide them to the numerous products made throughout the county, participants will incorporate as much locally produced food into their daily diets as possible and keep a log charting their experience.
The Evening Sun staff is taking the challenge and will be giving daily updates on their progress in both the print and on-line editions of the paper throughout the week.

MIKE MCGUIRE
If you’d asked me last week if I would eat a “wrapini” (grilled wrap, like a panini) filled with locally-grown roasted vegetables, I would have said, “yeah, I’ll try one – when I throw on a flower print hemp gown and join a hippie commune.” But I had one yesterday at Hoppie’s in Oxford – along with local potato salad, apple sauce and corn chowder – and it was good. Really good. And it didn’t require me to quit my job and sell beads at music festivals.
It wasn’t just a change for me, either. Hoppie’s owner Danielle Williamson said it was a fun, and interesting task trying to come up with yesterday’s special, adding that she got most of the ingredients for it from a relative in Oxford. But she also said the idea of adding more local flavor to her menu has been on her mind recently. In fact, in October, she and several other local restaurant owners say they’ll be meeting with local producers to pipe in more of their products. So, something like Williamson’s Monday special may be offered more frequently in the near future.
Dinner wasn’t as local – stroganoff made with grass-fed beef raised in Earlville. That too, was excellent, and relatively inexpensive – it, along with farm fresh eggs and a host of other items, can be found at Solstice in downtown Norwich.
While it wasn’t the lunch or dinner ensemble I’d have normally chosen, the challenge forced me to break the mold, and like Martha says, that’s “a good thing.”
Today may not be as easy. Another busy schedule. If shopping doesn’t work out, maybe I’ll fry up some eggs from Georgetown and warm up some of Monday’s locally-made leftovers.


JESSICA LEWIS
There’s a lot of pressure being the only vegetarian on staff during an initiative like this. Everyone thought this would be easier for me than the rest of the staff, and so far I am totally blowing that theory out of the water.
Yesterday was a busy day for me. I had about 20 minutes in which I could take a lunch break, but sadly, I also had to pick up dog food and diapers, so on my priority list that came first. Instead of carefully planning a meal based around local foods, I grabbed a Diet Coke and some Combos, and hurried back to the office, and I was still late to most of my afternoon meetings.
I knew I was horribly failing the challenge, so I promised myself I would do better that night. After work, I traveled up Route 23 and stumbled upon a farm stand where I purchased corn, green beans and cucumbers. Feeling a little better about the challenge, I picked up my baby and decided to travel to Chenango Roasters so I wouldn’t spend the entire week drinking Folgers and feeling guilty.
Lesson number one: Always check business hours before you drive out of your way to visit them. Although it was very clearly stated in the Eat Local Challenge Guide, I still managed to overlook the fact that the business closes at 4 and it was well after 5 p.m. So feeling slightly less successful, I went home and began to cook a healthy dinner.
Lesson number two: If your child is extremely hungry, they may not want to wait for a healthy dinner. Since we didn’t get home until after 6, and my little guy eats lunch around 11, he was starving by the time we got home. I tried to hold him off for a while but he ended up eating a hot dog, some grapes and a tiny bit of cucumber salad, and when dinner was done an hour later, he was full.
With the wonderful lessons I’ve learned, hopefully today I’ll do a little better.

TYLER MURPHY
I slowly prowled the pages of the Bullthistle Bounty guide searching for something that could satisfy my carnivorous desires.
My fingers eventually came upon a small organic farm in Plymouth called Lamb’s Quarters Organic Farm. The small farm is a husband and wife operation and offers a number of things, but I was looking for their meat, lamb, chicken and eggs. I was unfortunately informed that the they were nearly out of any lamb or chicken, so I settled for eggs.
So through an unusually hectic day I practically missed lunch and had only an apple and a carrot to hold me over from 6 a.m. to about 8:30 p.m. When I finally got home from work I made dinner. I hate Mondays.
Using organic and local eggs, garlic, butter, potatoes, tomatoes and cheese, I made one mighty omelet. I’m not sure if my culinary skills were to credit, but the very fresh ingredients were rich in flavor. Again for breakfast I slugged down some locally purchased grape juice and grabbed an apple.
I’m not sure if my lack of experience is a factor, but so far all the locally purchased food seems to cost noticeably more than other food. If I was to make this a permanent routine, I would have to budget myself much more closely. Also many food items that are locally grown are obviously seasonal. One needs to be familiar with when different foods come into focus.
I still haven’t managed to get any coffee.