Food Independence Day

DECLARE YOUR FOOD INDEPENDENCE THIS JULY 4!

Petition for Individuals to Eat Locally-Sourced Food Spreads Nationwide

SCARBOROUGH, Maine (June 22, 2009) – This July 4, celebrate the bounty of your local community by declaring your food independence and eating a locally-sourced holiday meal.

That’s the vision of a grassroots group of individuals, passionate about the healthful and economic benefits of local food, who have created “Food Independence Day,” encouraging people to source local and sustainably-produced ingredients for their meals.

To date, more than 5,000 individuals have visited the Food Independence Day Facebook page and/or www.FoodIndependenceDay.org and pledged to eat a meal made with local food on July 4.

Once on the www.FoodIndependenceDay.org site, some participants are also sharing details, photos, menus and locations of their own locally-sourced 4th of July meals at: http://foodindependenceday.org/post/116860097/map.www.FoodIndependenceDay.org site, some participants are also sharing details, photos, menus and locations of their own locally-sourced 4th of July meals at: http://foodindependenceday.org/post/116860097/map.

Petition Also Encourages Governors to Promote Local Foods

The Food Independence Day petition asks the nation’s 50 governors to likewise participate and share their menus on the site.

Located on Facebook at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/153, the petition asks governors to “Whet our appetites by publishing your planned menu in advance of the holiday. Share your recipes and the names of the local farmers, fisherfolk and food producers whose ingredients you’ll be using.

“As residents of your states and by our signatures below,” the petition continues, “we pledge to join you in this celebration of edible independence by eating healthy and delicious foods from our own local farms, gardens and communities.”

Organizers of Food Independence Day are Kitchen Gardeners International, with support from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s Food and Society Fellows Program and the Mother Nature Network. The initiative follows Kitchen Gardeners International’s campaign, “Eat the View: Replant a White House Victory Garden,” which earlier this year garnered more than 100,000 signatures to successfully petition the Obama administration to plant a garden on the White House South Lawn.

“Food Independence Day brings the spirit of the White House garden effort to a state by state, and even house by house level,” said Roger Doiron, founder of the nonprofit Kitchen Gardeners International and current Fellow with the IATP Food and Society Fellows Program. “We hope to foster enough interest and momentum that our 50 governors and their families will take note and enjoy their July 4 celebrations by feasting on local produce, meats, beverages and desserts from their own states or as nearby as possible. In doing so, we hope they set an example for and encourage their constituents to do the same.”

To view an image of the Statue of Liberty celebrating in her own unique way, click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42913695@N00/3641710422/.

About Kitchen Gardeners International

KGI is a nonprofit network of over 10,000 gardeners from 100 countries who are working together to help individuals, families and communities achieve greater levels of food self-reliance through the promotion of kitchen gardening, home-cooking and sustainable local food systems. In doing so, KGI seeks to connect, serve and expand the global community of people who grow some of their own food. www.kitchengardeners.org.

About the IATP Food and Society Fellows Program

The IATP Food and Society Fellows Program provides fellowships to professionals in food and agriculture from across North America, enabling them to use mass media channels to inform and shape the public agenda. The goal of the program is to create sustainable food systems that promote good health, vibrant communities, environmental stewardship, worker justice and accessibility for all. Fellows come from many disciplines—chefs, farmers, nutritionists, activists, public health professionals, fishers, policy experts and academics. www.foodandsocietyfellows.org.

About the Mother Nature Network

The Mother Nature Network is an environmental news and information website that launched in January 2009.  Designed to be a one-stop resource on a full range of environmental subjects, they offer original programming, articles, blogs, videos and how-to guides, along with breaking news stories. www.mnn.com