One Thing, All In. Local Food Starts Here.

Go ahead. Get local. This first easy step is all it takes. Local food and farmers are waiting for you.

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What if one small change in your shopping habits could strengthen your local food system, connect you to a farmer, and make your meals taste better?

That’s exactly what Month 4 of The Local Food Challenge is all about.

We’re calling it One Thing, All In. How hard could one thing be to source and stick to? I know you can do it. And I am doing it right alongside you. This month and every month.

The idea is simple: choose one ingredient and commit to sourcing it locally for the entire month. Eggs, honey, milk, flour, yogurt—whatever speaks to you.

For me, that ingredient is yogurt. And not just any yogurt. I’m talking about the Greek yogurt from Tonjes Farm Dairy in Callicoon, New York. Tonjes farm is 30 miles from my own. It's a town I visit frequently, and I can source my now favorite yogurt from my favorite farm store by traveling half the distance.

That's where I grabbed my first container of Tonjes' Greek yogurt. I’d been loyal to the usual suspects in the grocery store: Chobani, Fage, the ones we all know. The first spoonful of Tonjes? Tangy. A little more liquidy than the solid yogurt from the supermarket brands. If I am being honest, it took me a minute to get used to it. But then I started to associate the taste of my new yogurt as the gold standard. It’s tangy, creamy and full of character—like a yogurt with a soul.

Since trying it initially, I put it to the test. A full-on taste comparison with the mainstream brands. Let’s just say the results were… conclusive. Tonjes leaves them in the dust.

Now, I eat it every morning. It’s a key part of my protein intake, makes me feel good thanks to the probiotics, and—maybe most importantly—it connects me to something real. And the connection to this local farm is priceless. I plan to pay them a visit, when it works for them and I will report back when I do.

And here's the ripple: Tonjes also makes butter. I’d been buying a fancy Vermont brand from that same local farm store, but it occurred to me—why not make the switch? Supporting a local farm even more deeply is a no-brainer when one product is this good.

That’s what this month’s challenge is about. Not perfection. Not overwhelm. Just intention and curiosity.

Choose your ingredient and let that one shift open the door to something bigger.

Need ideas? Try:

• Local eggs from your farmers’ market

• Honey from a nearby apiary

• Flour from a regional grain mill

• Yogurt, cheese, or milk from a local dairy

• What about another protein? Chicken? Beef?

Then, use that ingredient. Learn about it. Learn about the farm. See if you can visit them (for extra credit). Ask questions. Try new recipes. And let the ripple effect do its thing.

Because sometimes, the smallest changes make the biggest difference.

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Dana DiPrima is the founder of the For Farmers Movement. For Farmers supports American farmers by sharing their stories, replacing myths with facts, and providing them with mini-grants and other helpful resources. Dana is the host of  One Bite is Everything, the podcast that helps you have a big impact on your health, your community, and the planet, through tiny, informed choices. She authors a weekly letter in addition to this blog. You can subscribe here. And you can join the For Farmers Movement to support your farmers here. You can also follow her on Instagram.