Day Seven – The Last Day of the Local Food Challenge

Kate Silc, Eating Carolina Challenge Participant, Pittsboro, NC

Today is the last day for the challenge and it’s definitely the most difficult. It’s the most difficult because I step back into the real world. I’m talking about the world where the nation’s food distribution system, lack of quality local food, and messed-up sense of what people should be eating is so plainly evident. I’m going to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park for a ballgame that starts at 5 p.m.

I’ve been to the Bulls’ park many times and I know exactly what the concession food will be. It will include: fried baloney, funnel cakes, hot dogs, corn dogs, beer, soda, ice cream, and any number of food offerings that are mass-produced, tasteless, unhealthy, and trucked in from far far away. Needless to say, there will not be one single healthy item to eat in the place. I know. I’ve searched.

It’s not just the Bulls, I’m a die-hard baseball fan and I’ve been to many parks both major and minor league. All of the parks specialize in the same kind of “food.” (It just doesn’t seem right to call it food.) If baseball players had to eat the same food, they’d never make it out of little league.

I can hear you saying, “Lighten up. It’s only a day at the ballpark.” Well, to me it exemplifies what has become of the American diet since the advent of fast food. We find the same food at ballparks, airline terminals, supermarkets, and shopping malls. It’s the rule rather than the exception.

I’ve enjoyed being a part of the eating local challenge. We’ve had some delicious meals made with fresh local ingredients all week long. Unfortunately, it isn’t a perfect world and the ballpark won’t sell the fresh peaches that are available locally now. Oh well, I can dream.