Do you want to join a CSA, but don’t know where to start? Are you wondering what the difference between Certified Organic and Biodynamic produce is? This guide explains the many ways to participate in the local food movement in the Chesapeake. There was a time when most food was local, whether you lived on a farm or bought your food at a farmers market in the city. Exotic foods like olives, spices, and chocolate shipped in from other parts of the world were considered luxuries. Now, most food that Americans eat is shipped from somewhere else, and eating local is considered by some to be a luxury. Renee Brooks Catacalos is here to remind us that eating local is easier―and more rewarding―than we may think. There is an abundance of food all around us, found across the acres and acres of fields and pastures, orchards and forests, mile upon winding mile of rivers and streams, ocean coastline, and the amazing Chesapeake Bay. In The Chesapeake Table , Catacalos examines the powerful effect of eating local in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Hooked on the local food movement from its early days, Catacalos opens the book by revisiting a personal challenge to only buy, prepare, and eat food grown within a 150-mile radius of her home near Washington, DC. From her in-depth, on-the-ground study of food systems in the region, Catacalos offers practical advice for adopting a locavore diet and getting involved in various entry points to food pathways, from shopping at your local farmers market to buying a community-supported agriculture share. She also includes recipes for those curious about how they can make their own more environmentally conscious food choices. Introducing readers to the vast edible resources of the Chesapeake region, Catacalos focuses on the challenges of environmental and economic sustainability, equity and diversity in the farming and food professions, and access and inclusion for local consumers of all income levels, ethnicities, and geographies. Touching on everything from farm-based breweries and distilleries to urban hoop house farms to grass-fed beef, The Chesapeake Table celebrates the people working hard to put great local food on our plates. We at the Chesapeake Foodshed Network couldn't be more excited about CFN Steering Team member Renee Brooks Catacalos' book coming out this fall, "The Chesapeake Table: Your Guide to Eating Local." ― The Chesapeake Foodshed Network Renee Brooks Catacalos knows a thing or two about local food . . . The Chesapeake Table: Your Guide to Eating Local, will be released in October and outlines why she's been hooked on the local food movement from the start, which foods you can only find in the Chesapeake region, and how you can benefit from the fruits―literally and figuratively―of local farmers' labors. ― Baltimore Magazine Renee Brooks Catacalos has been, and continues to be, a tireless advocate for the local food traditions of the Chesapeake Bay region. She is also a brilliant writer with a razor-sharp focus and the ability to bring to life disparate aspects of the Chesapeake, including the simple joys of home-cooked local food. This book is a welcome addition to the body of work on our magnificent Bay. ―John Shields, Gertrude's Restaurant After many years of walking the walk and sharing her passion for local and sustainable food practices in various outlets, Renee Catacalos brings all of this knowledge together in one beautiful package. The Chesapeake Table is a must-have resource, complete with delicious recipes, showing how eating locally and sustainably is possible. ―Carla Hall, co-host of The Chew A delectable love poem to locally grown food and the people who produce it, Renee Brooks Catacalos's book makes a compelling argument for strengthening the local economy and community health by eating primarily what's grown in the Chesapeake Bay foodshed. Buy this book and digest its message that 'all our daily choices count.' ―Margaret Morgan-Hubbard, ECO City Farms Renee Catacalos has done a great service to the cause of local foodways in the mid-Atlantic by writing this book, a thorough, informative, and wide-ranging look at how we eat now―and how, with more support, more food hubs, and continued awareness of the ecological and social issues that affect our ever-widening food stream, we might eat in the future. ―Todd Kliman, author of The Perfect Chef Renee Catacalos has long been a champion of the edible resources and character of the Chesapeake watershed. Her book beautifully ties cultural, historical, and natural resources into a poetic volume that ennobles the people of the greater Chesapeake, giving an appreciation for the sustainable and local in one of America's most ancient and proud foodscapes. ―Michael Twitty, author of The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South There is so much to admire and discover in Renee Catacalos's quest for the best local foods and small-scale producers