Written by: Diana Rodgers
Back at AHS13, Robb and I gave a talk called, “Liberation from the Industrial Food System” and offered up a challenge to gyms out there: Show us your best example of connecting with your local farmer, and Robb will buy your group a whole grass fed cow share from a local farmer. I’m very passionate about sustainability and am really excited to see what’s happening out there with the farm to table movement. I think the whole idea of “farm to gym” is really something that could take off. I also am thrilled about the global work being done by organizations like The Savory Institute (which we highlighted in our talk), and in fact, Robb is sending me to Zimbabwe next summer to study the work they’re doing. Yes, I’m going to Zimbabwe and will be reporting back on how the Savory Institute is teaching farmers across the world the benefits of sustainable grazing techniques with their herd animals. There will be more from me on the blog when I go next summer. Meanwhile, I helped to organize an event at Harvard with Mat Lalonde and Allan Savory in November called, “Eat Red Meat, Save the Planet”.
We had lots of really interesting entries for the contest, but the one that really grabbed our my attention was this entry from WolfPack Fitness in Auburn, Maine. Not only did we really love the name “WolfPack” but the Blue Collar Dinner looked amazing and super fun.
—-
Entry from Luke Robinson of WolfPack Fitness:
Keith Perry, one of my fellow WolfPack trainers had been patronizing several local farms near our location in Auburn, Maine. As we developed better relationships with the farmers, we started purchasing more and more locally grown/raised food. One day, we noticed a “Volunteers Wanted” sign on the door at Nezinscot Farms. With school back in session, Keith’s mornings were open where he had been training two teenage athletes. He decided this was the perfect opportunity to roll up his sleeves and work on the farm.
It was only a week later that I saw the “Farm to Gym” challenge in my e-mail updates from Robb’s blog. Whether you call it destiny, divine intervention, luck, or just plain coincidence we knew this was our chance to really make an impact within the community.
The following links to our WolfPack FaceBook page will tell the rest of story better than any long diatribe ever could. Please accept this as our official entry into the Farm to Gym Challenge; a challenge that we met with passion and vigor. Here’s one from August when we first started taking clients to check out the local farms and then our ensuing projects in September: http://www.facebook.
September Projects
1) “A Blue Collar Affair”: Farm Tour, Farm-Fresh Dinner, Meet the Farmer, 10% of all meat bought that night –http://www.facebook.com/
2) Nezinscot Farm: Virtual Video Tour – http://www.youtube.com/
3) Farm Fitness: A farm work inspired “primal fitness workout” where we also discussed glut-4 translocation and why you can get away with some starches after workouts- http://www.facebook.
4) Publicly Shared Recipes Using Local Grass-Fed Meats:
*Charizo Sausage & Kale Soup: http://www.facebook.com/
*Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs: http://www.facebook.
So, WolfPack, you’ve won a grass-fed cow share courtesy of Robb. Enjoy it!
Diana Rodgers is a Paleo/Primal Nutritional Therapist and an organic farmer in the Boston area. She owns Radiance Nutritional Therapy where she conducts one on one consults and nutrition workshops. She also runs Sustainable Dish, where she blogs about her experiences on the farm and explores not only what foods are optimal for human health, but also the best choices from and environmental, ethical, political and social justice perspective.
Thank you so much Diana, Robb, and Squatchy! The Farm to Gym Challenge was such a wonderful experience for the entire WolfPack Community. We built lasting connections with some of our local farmers and introduced an entire new “crop” of folks to the many farms in our area that offer grass-fed meats of all kinds!
The best part? It hasn’t stopped just because Buy Local Month ended and we already have several on-farm volunteer projects organized for the Fall!
Thanks again for everything. This is such an incredible honor and we’re thrilled to be a positive example for communities around the country! We’re howlin’ proud: ahhhhwooooo!