Last week, I had the delight of attending the Kalamazoo College’s second annual “Local Foods Showdown” sponsored by the campus group Farms2”K.” The night was a cook-off of various local restaurants that were challenged to make meals which consisted of at least 80% local ingredients. The intention of the event was to have an informal way to educate people on the benefits of supporting local growers (many of whom were also organic), to show the variety you can still have when eating local, and to help develop relationships with local farmers. The group’s focus is on making a long lasting relationship with farmers in the Kalamazoo area, to help better the cafeteria by using more local food, and to ensure the college is doing its part in supporting local community. The highly attended event included local growers, students, community and college members and DELICIOUS dishes. People circled while a live jazz band played, voting for dishes in categories such as “best presentation,” “most likely to be included in a cookbook,” and “sexiest dish.” The event was a fun way to get the word out about the benefit of supporting local and organic growers, both nutritional and social. After the apple-butternut squash soup, I was sold on the taste benefits of going local and organic too!