local

Before a trip, I spend hours poring over sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor and asking friends for the best places to go. It's always the advice from locals that's the most valuable, but that can be hard to find. However, there is a new way for you to meet your own local tour guide when you're traveling on Tripping.com, a social media site that hooks up travelers with native residents who will share a meal with you, teach you their language, show you around, or even offer their home for you to stay in. The best part is, the service is free of charge, and as you probably know, we do love freebies here at SavvySugar!

Of course, there are safety concerns, which the website says is helped by Tripping's reference, rating, and validation system. Tripping has to verify you are who you say you are via a Skype interview, and you can read testimonials and ratings of Tripping users for more security. What do you think — is this a service you would use on your travels?

Yesterday was a rough day for children's products at Walmart, but thankfully the corporation's food department is doing much better. In the afternoon, the world's biggest retailer announced its ambitious plans to double the sales of locally sourced produce in the US by the end of the year 2015. "Our size and scale have been big tools for change . . . There is an opportunity to lead in this area of sustainable agriculture," said CEO Mike Duke.

Walmart will focus more on working with small- and medium-sized farms and reducing farms' carbon footprint on the environment. Although meeting its lofty goals means local product makes up only nine percent of the chain's produce, nearly half of Walmart's $405 billion in annual revenue comes from food.

While I'm certain that other factors aside from altruism (like brand management and supply chain efficiency) come into play in these decisions, I'm still enthused that a corporate behemoth such as Walmart is setting an example and influencing the market for other grocers to follow. What do you think? Would you buy local produce from Walmart?

Source: Flickr User mjb84

Being a professional in the food industry, I'm often asked the same questions over and over again. What's your favorite restaurant? What was the most memorable meal you've eaten all year? When people ask me that one, I tell this story.

I'm crazy about lamb, and one of my best friends happens to live on a farm. They not only have chickens, but her boyfriend and his brother, The Fry Bros., are up-and-coming sheep ranchers. So when I invited them to spend a weekend at my parents' vacation house in the mountains, they promised to bring an organic, sustainably raised leg of lamb.

I don't know if it's because I knew the farmers, or the fact that I was dining in the company of all my favorite people with a beautiful backdrop, or it could have been the wonderful marinade recipe (which I found in Bon Appétit), but it was the most memorable meal I've eaten all year. I can't re-create the experience for you, but I can share the recipe. Seek out a locally raised piece of lamb and host your own special dinner! You'll need the recipe: here it is.

We love the pics that OnSugar blogger And She Finally Lived, Happily Ever After posted of her 2009 vegetable garden. When she cooks she just has to go as far as her backyard to pick fresh, organic carrots, corn, potatoes, and more.

With local and organic food having such a high price tag, it can be hard to eat in a sustainable way. One way I've gotten around the high costs is by joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The idea of a CSA is pretty simple — consumers pay farmers directly for a portion of their crop. It's a huge benefit to my health, and my money goes directly to a small, family-owned farm.

To give you an idea of how a CSA works, I'll use mine as an example. I pay $23 each week for enough produce to feed two people. My last box contained four Braeburn apples, four oranges, two pounds of heirloom tomatoes, one bunch of broccoli, two pounds of red potatoes, one pound of zucchini, one pound of green beans, one bunch of basil, and one head of red lettuce. All of the produce was grown on an organic farm located 90 miles from my home in San Francisco. For an additional fee I can also request organic dairy products, grass-fed meat, and Fair Trade coffee.

For tips on choosing a CSA, read more

Some legislation, like healthcare reform, might take a little more work for the White House to push through, but other initiatives, like the White House farmers market, are happening virtually overnight. Less than a month ago President Obama revealed that he and the first lady were looking into holding a farmers market outside the White House — and the plan's already come to fruition. At the opening of the FreshFarm market yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Washington DC mayor Adrian Fenty spoke to a crowd of about 300 shoppers about the importance of eating healthy, local food.

The visitor that drew the most attention was Michelle Obama, who encouraged Americans to get to know the farmers that grow the market's food, and stressed the importance of fresh markets, particularly in urban deserts.

Located at 810 Vermont Avenue, just blocks from the White House, the market runs Thursday afternoons through the end of October, and accepts food stamps. It sells pasture-raised meats, artisan cheeses, milk, yogurt, fresh fruits and vegetables, breads, flowers, and preserves. DCers, have you had a chance to visit?

In March, Alice Waters and other supporters of the local food movement thought they'd finally gotten what they wanted when the Obamas announced the planting of an organic garden in the White House. But yesterday reformers were pleasantly shocked when President Obama announced his hopes to set up a farmers market at the White House. At the Organizing for America National Health Care Forum on Thursday, Barack Obama revealed that he and the first lady are looking into the idea of a farmers market outside the White House that would sell food from the White House garden or other local farmers:

"One of the things that we’re trying to do now is to figure out, can we get a little farmers’ market — outside of the White House . . . that is a win-win situation. It gives suddenly D.C. more access to good, fresh food, but it also is this enormous potential revenue-maker for local farmers in the area."

He also discussed the importance of connecting local farmers to school districts, in an effort to improve the federal school lunch program. I wholeheartedly applaud the idea — if established, it would be the first-ever White House farmers market, setting a landmark precedent for Americans to start shopping more frequently at farmers markets across the nation. Do you think President Obama will follow through on this idea?

I'm crazy about Summer for many reasons, a major one being the season's amazing selection of stone fruits and berries. So I was beyond excited when a close friend surprised me with a new cookbook that takes advantage of my love for fruit: Chez Panisse Desserts ($20.70). This book, which is over 20 years old, is one in a series of seven cookbooks from the kitchen of Chez Panisse, the legendary Alice Waters restaurant that's known as the birthplace of California cuisine. It's authored by Lindsey Shere, who was the pastry chef at the restaurant for more than two decades. Did its seasonal dessert recipes make for a compelling cookbook? Find out when you read more