Local Foodie Checklist: August

The Local Foodie Checklist gives you five ways to become involved in the local food near you — here are some suggestions for August!

Have a jam sesh!

We are in peak/late fruit season here in Michigan, and that means it’s time to take advantage of the harvest season! Make sure you can enjoy these last few sweet days of Summer all year long by having a jam (or jelly!) sesh in the kitchen. Check out this thorough guide to jam-making to get started!

Spice, spice, baby!

It’s time to turn the heat up in the kitchen. Afraid? You can take the heat level down a notch by cutting your pepper in half and removing the seeds and membranes, which is where the pepper keeps a lot of the capsaicin, or the chemical compound that makes peppers spicy

Go to your local Farmers Market!

Many farmers markets celebrate their final market days in September or October. Make sure to take advantage of seasonal markets near you, and ask your favorite vendors if and where you can find their products throughout the rest of the year. 

Be the influencer you want to see in the world!

Friends follow trends, and friends follow you. Be an influencer for local food by posting about your farm store favorites, CSA hauls or farmers market finds. You can also follow Taste the Local Difference on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook for info on the local food in your area! 

Find a new recipe with our digital cookbook!

We’ve come out with a fantastic cookbook compiling recipes to take advantage of each season! TASTES is a compilation of our seasonal recipes with extras, like videos how-tos, and 20% of each sale funds a video project for restaurants affected by the COVID-19 health crisis. You can buy your digital copy TASTES here!

Claire Butler is the Communications and Outreach Intern for Taste the Local Difference. She is a current culinary student at the Great Lakes Culinary Institute. Contact her at [email protected]