Hoosiers have been given a one-week challenge to eat at least one Indiana locally grown or produced food at each meal this week.

The effort, known as Going Local Week, runs through Sept. 6.

And it can be accomplished, said John Orick with the Madison County office of Purdue University Extension services.

“There’s a myriad of vegetables and produce being produced in Madison County locally and you cannot help but drive down the road and see signs up,” he said.

An increasing number of people are choosing foods locally grown within 100 miles of their homes, said Dr. Maria Marshall, an agriculture economics specialist at Purdue University and an organizer of Going Local Week.

They’re nicknamed “locavores,” Marshall said.

“Locavores pride themselves on finding and using ingredients that are locally available and in season,” she said.

As part of the Going Local effort, she said, Hoosiers were being encouraged to increase consumption of locally grown and produced food in hopes it becomes a normal practice and not just a novelty purchase.

If half of Indiana’s 2 million families spent $25 a month on local foods, the economic impact would be more than $300 million a year, she said.

Madison County residents can start with a recently produced directory, “Local Farm Products and Agritourism Sites,” a brochure available at the Purdue Extension office, 16 E. Ninth St. The booklet is produced by the Madison County Growers Council.

To be included, information can be sent to Orick at the extension office.

A summary of the locations and products follows. It’s best to call first to see what’s in season.

Also, look for these products at area farmers markets held Saturday mornings in Markleville, Pendleton, Lapel, Elwood and Anderson. Most farmer’s markets run through mid-September.