A new television show debuted Sunday night on  Food Network Canada, highlighting six families that have taken on the challenge to eating within an 100 mile radius.

Hosted by James MacKinnon and Alisa Smith, authors of the bestselling book The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating they cheer on and guide families to becoming locavores.

James and Alisa provide families with information, encouragement, recipes, challenges and tips to guide them through transforming their lives into something more sustainable.

Hosted in Mission, British Columbia (70 kilometres east of Vancouver), the land is rich in agriculture, and highlights the Fraser River, perfect for salmon, and farms featuring livestock. According to the Food Network website, Mission is also rich in crops such as rhubarb, berries, and apples.

The show follows six very different families with very different backgrounds, as they experience changes, alter their outlook, and tread their way through the various challenges, both from themselves and the ones that James and Alisa deliver.

Among the families are Mission’s former mayor Randy and his wife Alma who, unlike her enthusiastic husband, is apprehensive about the project. Then there is the McIntosh family with two young kids, and a junk-food loving husband with warnings from his doctor to learn how to eat healthier.

Another family owns a small farm but because of their homelife’s self-sufficiency, they are already are on their way to working towards the 100-mile effort. On the other side of the spectrum is the Weremchuk/William’s clan, who are frenzied with convenience and fast food and a husband dealing with agoraphobia.

The St. Cyrs are keen to the new way of life, but wary about the changes, and the Peters family, who own a local grocery store, might seem to have the highest advantage – but have to struggle with feeding their finicky four year old.

The first episode aired on the weekend (Sunday, April 4th). Entitled The Purge, for obvious reasons, we saw James and Alisa recruit the families, sign them up to the challenge, then examine their eating habits. (Kraft Dinner anyone?)

The show’s website features videos, a blog, and episode guides (you can watch it online), as well as recipes, such as their Fiddlehead Omelette and Scalloped Sweet Potatoes with Leeks and Blue Cheese. Hardly sounds like a challenge, doesn’t it?

If you’re interested in opting for the 100 Mile Diet yourself, the show’s site allows you to search for foods in Canada to see what is in your radius.

Visit and follow the show at: 100mile.foodtv.ca

MSN featured a recent interview  Up to the ‘Challenge’ with the show’s hosts.

Image courtesy of 100mile.foodtv.ca

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