Tomato Independence Project
In 2013, TVFC wanted to find a tangible way for people to participate in growing the local food economy in the Treasure Valley. When researching what it would take to meet our goal of having 20% of our food consumption to be local by 2020, we found that the average American eats over 90 pounds of tomatoes per year. That’s a lot of tomatoes! And nothing tastes better than a tomato fresh from the garden in the summer, and nothing worse than a rock hard tomato in January…
We’ve decided to make it our goal to have as many people as possible grow and/or eat local, fresh tomatoes. Watch for taste testing events, seminars on caring for your plants, and local restaurants featuring local tomatoes.
How to Participate:
Want to join us in ending the tyranny of tasteless tomatoes? Follow these steps to get started:
Follow TVFC on Facebook and Twitter
Sign up for a seed starting class at a participating nursery
Plant your plants and tell us about your progress over the summer
Not into growing things, or don’t have room? You can still participate!
Eat at a participating local restaurant, and order something with tomatoes
Buy tomatoes at your local farmer’s market
Ask your local supermarket to carry local tomatoes when they are in season
Try a kind of tomato you’ve never had before