About Us
What is 100 Mile Living?
100 Mile Living is a directory where members can market their locally made or grown products free of charge while visitors can conveniently learn about where these products are made, grown, and sold. The website also makes it easy to locate products that support an environmental or social cause, or that are handmade, organic or kosher. We know your time is valuable, so we want to help you spend less time searching and more time enjoying quality, local products.
What is the HEART & SOUL of 100 Mile Living?
We believe that everyone who wants to participate in the buy local movement, support the local economy, or strive to live sustainably should be able to conveniently find and make informed decisions about the products grown and created in their community.
Our Mission & Vision
Mission: 100 Mile Living commits to easy and informed access to locally made and grown products for buyers and to local markets for sellers.
Vision: Be the go-to website for people interested in a local, sustainable lifestyle. Be a company that fosters local economic prosperity and investment in the health of our environment by developing community connections between makers, growers and shoppers.
How Did We Choose Our Name?
We were inspired by the philosophy behind the book The 100 Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon, where one tries to source food from a 100 mile radius. 100 Mile Living makes it easy for people to extend that purchasing philosophy into all aspects of their lives.
Who is the 100 Mile Living Team?
100 Mile Living was created by Natalie Moreno (left) and Medea Curteanu (right). We are friends, mothers, and graduates from the University of Manitoba. We are also passionate about using our time effectively to find local products!
Natalie Moreno has a Bachelor of Science in Applied Environmental Studies and a Master of Natural Resources Management with a focus on public participation processes. Natalie worked her way up to create and become the Manager, Sustainability Initiatives at Red River College. Natalie eventually moved on to become a Regional Environmental Manager for the Organizing Committee of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Natalie’s volunteer roles include being a past member of the Manitoba Round Table for Sustainable Development and the Coquitlam Sustainability and Environmental Advisory Committee. In addition to building the 100 Mile Living business, Natalie has focused her energy on being a mother to two lovely daughters while finding ways to connect with nature and protect our planet. Natalie lives with her family in Maple Ridge, British Columbia.
Medea Curteanu has a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology and a Master of Natural Resource Management with focus on conservation of species at risk. Medea has worked for the last 10 years as a Wildlife Biologist for the Canadian Wildlife Service. Besides spending quality time with her three energetic boys (5 year, 8 year and 38 year old), she enjoys bird watching, hiking, canoeing, camping, photography, cooking, and travelling with her family and friends. She is also passionate about everything related to sustainable living including going zero waste, cooking from scratch, composting, gardening, canning, and shopping at farmer markets, craft shows, and thrift stores. Medea lives with her family in Edmonton, Alberta.
We are grateful to Obsidian Consulting and Empty Desk Solutions for assisting us in website development and marketing.
Why Did We Start 100 Mile Living?
We found it challenging and time consuming to locate specific locally made and grown products when we needed or wanted them. The process has typically been haphazard: by chance while visiting a farmer’s market or craft sale, through word of mouth, or hours spent online sifting through a multitude of websites. Thus, the idea for 100 Mile Living was born: a consolidated website that includes locally made products needed for daily living. Similar websites we have found are either regionally or product specific (e.g crafts or gifts only). In contrast, members of 100 Mile Living can list any product they make or grow and people anywhere can find them with ease by using our distance search feature.
We also truly believe in the positive impacts of local spending. The Power of Purchasing: The Economic Impacts of Local Procurement produced by LOCO is a terrific study of the economic implications. It states that “Local businesses employ and are owned by friends and neighbors, who are heavily invested in the strength of our communities and our quality of life. They create good, local jobs, buy more goods and services from other local businesses, give more to local charities, recirculate more money in our economy and strengthen our social fabric.” Our environment also benefits from purchasing locally made and grown goods by reducing pollution and our collective carbon footprint.
