April Luginbuhl Mather and her husband have been diligent about buying local, eating a low-meat diet and making most food from scratch. Those good intentions came almost to a halt when she learned that she is pregnant, and, at the same time, her husband, Steve, accepted a new job in Cleveland.

"For about six weeks, I had a terrific craving for Chef Boyardee canned spaghetti," Mrs. Mather says. "When that passed, I couldn't get enough boxed dinners. I craved ramen noodles, Thai instant dinners and all kinds of food that I would never normally eat. The pressures of moving [from Columbus, Ohio] haven't translated well, either. We've been on the road a lot and staying with relatives."

But once settled in her new home, she and her husband will again try to eat mostly foods grown or produced locally. On the record, too.

Mrs. Mather is one of 15 people from across the country who were selected to participate in Locavore Nation, a one-year sustainable living challenge. The challenge was promoted by cookbook author Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of "The Splendid Table" radio show, heard in Pittsburgh on Sundays at 4 p.m. on WDUQ-FM. The response was larger than anticipated. More than 5,000 people volunteered to document their activities while eating primarily locally grown, organic and seasonal foods.

Based upon answers to previous survey questions indicating a high degree of knowledge and commitment to eating sustainably -- that is, eating food grown and produced in a way that's friendly to the environment and workers -- the 5,000 entrants were narrowed to 150. The greatest number of qualifying candidates were from the Northwest and the Northeast corridors. (None live in Pennsylvania, but one is in Wallace, W.Va.: 24-year-old Autumn Long, a 2005 anthropology graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, who describes herself and her husband as "full-time homesteaders.")

Among the criteria used to select the participants were geography, age, marital status, ethnicity, rural/urban residency, special life circumstances and experience with sustainability.

In her qualifying essay, Mrs. Mather wrote that she is a Ph.D. student in geography with interests in food production and impacts on the environment. "My work focuses on climate change," she said. "But it has veered away somewhat from food and sustainability, so this project is a good reminder for me personally.

"Because I'm pregnant with our first child, due in July, I have trouble doing the shopping thanks to my new heightened sense of smell. I don't spend as much time cooking because of fatigue. And when I'm hungry, I want to eat now. And even though I know what might be the best decision, I may not be consistent." That reality check was good enough for the judges.

The Locavore Nation group will actively chronicle the experiences and challenges of living a regionally sustainable, organic and seasonal diet via an online blog. The overarching goal is to purchase 80 percent of food items from within their region. For some, that means 50 miles, and for others it may mean 500, and they will justify their choices.

"Spring is coming," says Mrs. Mather. "I will find new farmers markets. And I'm already searching out the stores that stock local foods. My freezer is empty because we've moved. But I'm looking forward to preserving the season's best. And as a new mom, I know eating local will be best for our baby."

The Splendid Table radio show will support a blog on its Web site -- www.splendidtable.org -- documenting the profiles and progress of participants, and bloggers periodically will be interviewed on the weekly show.