Roth: Eat well and become an Oklavore

Those who prefer to eat locally grown and produced food sometimes call themselves locavores.

Recently Sustainable OKC and Transition OKC hosted a local food challenge event at Individual Artists of Oklahoma. It was part of “Evolve,” a juried art exhibit and collaborative fundraiser exploring sustainability, resilience and community.

“Evolve” is one of the many efforts cropping up lately due to the boom in the local food movement in Oklahoma. Increasing numbers of farmers markets, local food festivals and even wineries make it easy for Oklahomans to become Oklavores.

The local food challenge competition included Chef Kurt Fleischfresser, Chef Kamala Gamble, Chef Ryan Parrott, The Prairie Gypsies, The Wedge and 105Degrees. Each created a signature food specialty using as many locally sourced ingredients as possible.

Event participants came from a wide range of organizations and businesses – restaurateurs, chefs, farmers, ranchers, foodies, gardeners and groups such as the YMCA, EatWiseOKC, the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, Sustainable OKC, the Sierra Club, Slow Food OKC, Urban Agrarian and Earth Elements.

The event was catalyzed by the Going Locavore Group, a growing grass-roots coalition of several Oklahoma City organizations focused on transitioning our food system to a healthier, more sustainable and resilient one – and a primary strategy for doing so is to localize it.

One of the judges was Chef Jonathon Stranger of the popular new restaurant Ludivine, at Eighth and Hudson. Ludivine is the creative partnership of Stranger and Chef Russ Johnson along with Tracey Leird, general manager and partner.

Born from the idea of utilizing the best in seasonal ingredients available from local farmers and ranchers, Ludivine serves up a special culinary experience, providing exciting and healthy dishes directly from the farm to the table.

Exciting new enterprises like Native Roots Market, Urban Agrarian, increasing numbers of farmers markets and local restaurants like Ludivine are making local food available in more venues and delivered in more innovative and creative ways than ever before.

Through programs like Buy Fresh, Buy Local and the Oklahoma Farm-to-School Program, Oklahomans are discovering the fresh flavor of locally grown foods and getting healthier in the bargain.

Oklahoma farmers markets provide the means for farmers and ranchers to sell their products directly to the public and to make a living from their land. Oklahomans are fortunate to have access to readily available fresh fruits and vegetables that are of a consistency and quality that other states find hard to match. It’s a win-win for everyone!

Norman Sustainability Network and the Xenia Institute sponsor “Farm to Fork: The Oklahoma Food Chain,” a series of community dialogues on local foods.

Farmers across the country are realizing that going big and using chemicals isn’t the best path to success. Major food packers and distributors often don’t have time for small and sustainable operations. That’s where enterprises like Urban Agrarian, Oklahoma Food Coop and the OSU-OKC Farmers’ Market step in to provide an opportunity to get local food onto consumers’ tables.

Local food is better because it supports local farm families, preserves farmland and open space, tastes fresh and great, is healthier and more wholesome, ensures local food production with shorter shipping distances and helps local economic development by keeping dollars at home.

Ludivine and other Oklavore restaurants afford a marketing opportunity to growers who are able to consistently produce and deliver high-quality, high-value products from their farms.

As writer Barbara Kingsolver said in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life: “If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That’s not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences.”

Jim Roth, a former Oklahoma corporation commissioner, is an attorney with Phillips Murrah P.C. in Oklahoma City, where his practice focuses on clean, green energy for Oklahoma.