Wanda Harssema

Comox Valley Unitarians, Comox United Church & Friends

"To learn each day."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
167 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

11

locally sourced meals

consumed

Wanda's actions

Food

Support Local Food Systems

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will source 90 percent of my food from local producers each day. This could include signing up for a local CSA, buying from a farmer's market, visiting a food co-op, foraging with a local group, or growing my own ingredients.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Wanda Harssema 4/22/2019 1:42 PM
My challenge pooped out somewhat when I realized I could not get my food down to 90% local. However, I did limit a lot of our meals more to more local food which was a real eye opener. I really enjoyed the challenge and will attempt it again next year.

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- Celia Laval 4/23/2019 9:56 PM
  that's inspiring one to work on.... and yummy too. :) xo
  
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- Kasia Stepien 4/23/2019 9:35 PM
  Yeah, I was struggling with a goal of 50% local even. My definition of "local" kept expanding... and so has my backyard veggie garden, lol.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Dependable fresh food, supporting local farmers and building resilient communities are just a few benefits of local food systems. Which of these (or other) advantages inspire you the most?
Wanda Harssema 4/22/2019 1:40 PM
We have been trying to support local farmers and now grow our own food. I find this very fulfilling. It helps us buy just what we need and cut down on travel time food needs to take. I love avocados and I know growing them give people in Mexico employment but I seriously have to think about buying them any more. I think I will cut down my avocados to twice a month now instead of weekly.

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- Kasia Stepien 4/23/2019 9:37 PM
  Not the avocados!! Hahaha. I understand though... I've been looking at my jars full of chocolate chips and cashews, and thinking these are energy intensive, luxury items that travel across the world just for my pleasure. I should treat them as such, and indulge a little less frequently.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?
Wanda Harssema 4/22/2019 1:36 PM
I actually did not learn that much more about the sell by dates etc. It was one of the reasons I did not choose the challenge to reduce food waste - we do not waste much food. The food we waste can now be composted. A lot of the food I have wasted is bunches of herbs which I now am attempting to grow myself. This should reduce even that waste. However, it did remind me to be mindful to not buy in bulk unless we actually use the food a lot. This has gotten me into trouble before too - going to Costco and getting a lot of something only to realize we don't use it enough.

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Wanda Harssema 4/08/2019 12:52 PM
We are doing much better and we extended ´local’ to include Washington state. We can often do meals locally but not whole days. I should not have chosen our other goal of smaller portions as we are so weak there! We do not eat much during the day and so have seconds most evening meals. What is also awesome is last week we had no garbage! We have access to composting so most of our scraps go into the compost and not the garbage. We hardly ever waste any cooked food so I feel we are doing well with these things. A big thing is to also get out of our car. However, we have a problem in that,y bike has a fatal crack in it and I have to replace it. We are on it today. Shouldn’t be driving to church this time of year....

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- Kasia Stepien 4/08/2019 10:10 PM
  I have also been expanding my definition of local... BC, Washington... can I count California? Lol. Better than Guatemala and South Africa at least!
  
  And honestly, I think I'm learning the most from the challenges that are, well, more challenging for me. Maybe tomorrow will be the day I finally bike!
  
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- Shirley Buchan 4/08/2019 2:31 PM
  Thank you, Wanda .This is helpful. I will extend local to include Washington state. I am also pleased to report I don't have food waste. Our curbside composting works well. I'm still researching the bus system to eliminate the need to have a friend drive me into Courtenay I can have a book with me, I can tolerate the long waits at bus stops.
  
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Wanda Harssema 4/05/2019 2:55 PM
We are finding it really tough to find stuff from local producers. It just isn’t even available. Very enlightening.

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- Kasia Stepien 4/07/2019 7:29 AM
  I am also having trouble with this Wanda! I set a goal to source 50% of my food from local sources, and I don't think it's possible. Because I don't eat meat or dairy, I'm getting my soy milk, beans, tofu, etc. from sources outside BC (and definitely outside the Comox Valley). Not to mention most of my pantry items like spices, or dried fruit and nuts. I set a high percentage on purpose to challenge my perception of where my food comes from.
  
  I did, however, go to the Farmer's Market for the first time this winter because I set this challenge for myself! Not a lot of veggies right now, but we did get bread, mushrooms, swiss chard and microgreens. Can't live on that for a week, but it helps!
  
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- Heather Kennedy-MacNeill 4/06/2019 10:26 PM
  We begin our weekly shopping at the Farmer’s Market all year-round. You can find produce, dairy, meat, fish, poultry, bakery items, Kombucha, salsa, jams, eggs and so much more. Yes, not so much in the winter but the market only closes down for maybe 3 weeks and there are usually squashes.
  
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