Buffalo Rising Online

Aug 4th, 11:41am By Amy Kedron

There are few issues that benefit rural and urban America, create healthier communities and revive local economies more than local food. In honor of this, Buffalo First has teamed up with the Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP) to celebrate the 4th annual “Be Vocal Eat Local Week”. This year there are three different ways to enjoy Buffalo’s local bounty: (1) attend the Eat Local Kickoff Feast at the Flying Bison Brewery August 5, (2) visit the MAP urban garden on August 7 for a local cookout and garden tour (3) try a tasty, locally-sourced special at a local restaurants all week long.

To start the week, on Tuesday August 5th at 5pm, Buffalo First is hosting a special Kick-Off Feast at Flying Bison Brewery located at 491 Ontario Street in Riverside. Flying Bison is Buffalo’s only full-scale, local independent brewery and this is a great opportunity for the public to sample the difference of freshly-brewed beer. There will also be great activities for kids and DJ Cutler will be playing fun funky beats. Area restaurants will serve food produced with all local ingredients. The whole family can enjoy foods prepared by Amy’s Place, Avenue Boy’s Smokehouse, Betty’s, Caz Coffee Café, Chateau Buffalo, Chow Chocolat, Dancing Buffalo Cidre, Famous Doughnuts, Flying Bison, Pizza Plant, Rich Food’s sustainable chef Jake Brach, Spar’s European Sausage and Meats, Sweet Tooth, Ulrich’s and more! Participants will also have the opportunity to buy books on local food, and learn about Slow Food Buffalo and Edible Buffalo a new magazine that promotes Western New York’s local food system. There is a suggested donation of $10 to help Buffalo First and MAP bring you more locally-focused programs. Visit Buffalo First for more info and special discounts.

Then, all week long (August 1-9) Buffalo will have the opportunity to stop by area restaurants that will feature specialty dishes made with all local fare. The Comfort Zone Café, the Craftmen’s Café, Tru-Teas and many of the participants at the Flying Bison event above plan to show Buffalo the tasty difference that locally-sourced foods can make. Also during the week MAP plans to unveil Buffalo’s first mobile market, a farmer’s market on wheels that will bring fresh affordable local produce to all. Visit Buffalo First for a full list of participating businesses.

The average bite of food in America travels a whopping 1,500 miles before reaching our forks—that’s the equivalent of driving from Buffalo to Florida every time we eat. Simple decisions like purchasing locally-produced foods, makes a big difference. When we eat locally we help keep small family farms in our area running, we significantly reduce our carbon footprint and we consume food that is better for our bodies because it is fresher and more nutritious. Be Vocal, Eat Local and celebrate local food week!