Mission, B.C., was a pretty grumpy place last summer when some of its 30,000 citizens took eating local to the edge -- their morning coffee from Tim Hortons was banned.
They had succumbed to taking the ultimate test of eating and drinking local for 100 days by joining in the television series "The 100-Mile Challenge," based on James MacKinnon and Alisa Smith's bestselling book "The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating."
Six families were chosen by Paperny Films, the producer of the six-part series. It premieres on Sunday, April 5 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Food Network Canada. Paperny also produced "The Week the Women Went," which aired on CBC Television.
"The thing that surprised us most was that this group of people we chose were so eager in the hardest possible way," says MacKinnon, who with Smith joined the filming to act as guides.
They had lived and breathed the 100-Mile Diet themselves and know how difficult it can be to adjust to eating only food and drink sourced within that radius.
He says that "we wanted to suggest ways to make it easier on them, but everybody taking part turned out to be most comfortable with doing it 100 per cent hard core."
And that meant literally clearing out their kitchen cupboards and fridges of tea, chocolate, beer, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, imported fruits and vegetables -- in fact, anything that came from beyond 160 kilometres (100 miles) away.
"Yet the participants wanted to push themselves as hard as possible," says MacKinnon, noting that besides the six families chosen for filming many other residents of Mission also joined the challenge on their own.
He says the two most difficult commodities for the participants to swallow and do without were coffee and wheat.
"It was amazing doing this experiment where a whole bunch of people had to quit drinking coffee cold turkey overnight," says MacKinnon.
Children of the families were "really engaged with the process," he says.
"For example, one of the families decided they would plant a vegetable garden for the first time. It was something to see the difference between their response to the food that the family had grown with that they bought at the grocery store."
"They couldn't get their kids to eat spinach from the store, but when they grew it they ate it."
