Image by Flickr user the3robbers
As the economy faltered and folks became ever more aware of their eco-footprint, interest ballooned in all things local.
It was pretty early in the year when the tempo was set for a local frenzy when Lowcountry Local First hosted a lecture by Laury Hammel on how spending 10% on the local economy could do wonderful things.
It wasn't long after that the whole town seemed to jump onboard the message and its spirit flushed into everything from who mode a knickknack to where your broccoli came from.
Perhaps merging a passion for local with Charleston's newfound passion for food, we had the state telling us to eat more local veggies, discussions about the benefits of eating local, and a multitude of local dining festivals.
More so than anything else, 2009 seemed to be a year the Charleston area stepped back and asked the importance of everything it did.