Thanksgiving Challenge – Resources for buying local food in Virginia

Here is my game plan:

1. 1 trip to a local farmers market to purchase all fruit, veggies and wine (all produced within 100 miles from my house) – I will probably do my shopping a few days before Thanksgiving (Sunday looks like the best day).
2. Order a local, heritage Turkey online and pick it up the day before Thanksgiving.
3. Develop my menu after I shop

Resources I found online:

Fairfax County Farmers Markets: some are open through Thanksgiving and will have plenty of winter squash, all kinds of potatoes, apples, fresh cider, pumpkin, cheese, eggs, and if I am lucky – some leafy greens.

Buy Fresh Buy Local Virginia: Even though this really only covers “central” Virginia, it does extend to Loudoun County – where many of the producers are within the right distance from me.

Leesburg Winter Market (you can browse other markets in Loudoun County here as well): It looks like most of the shopping could be done in one place at this market – so this could be my choice. I will probably round up some friends/neighbors and carpool to Leesburg…

Local Harvest: My favorite source for finding and buying local foods. I will probably find and order my local heritage turkey from one of the farms listed on this site.

FoodRoutes.org: Another great site for learning more about buying local and getting more involved

My next post will be after I order the Turkey – possibly with a menu depending on what else I find.

Let me know what you find!!