The 100 Mile Challenge

Overview

The 100 Mile Challenge is a Canadian reality television series produced by Paperny Entertainment and aired on Food Network Canada. The series follows the lives and eating habits of six families living in Mission, British Columbia who, for a period of 100 days, agreed to only consume food and drink that has been grown, raised and produced within a 100-mile radius from Mission. The series is based on the concept of local food consumption as described in the book The 100-Mile Diet authored by J.B. MacKinnon and Alisa Smith where the two authors describe their experience of eating locally for one full year. To coincide with the premiere of the series, FoodTV.ca launched a companion website that Canwest described as "the largest, most innovative and interactive companion website to a series to date". After the series' initial run was concluded, it was announced that the global distribution rights to both the format and the program were acquired by the British company Passion Distribution after which Discovery Communications' Planet Green acquired the rights to broadcast the series in the United States. The success of the series has also inspired other communities in Canada to organize similar challenges.