Due to capitalisms’ attempt to profit on convenience, consumers are used to picking out their favorite foods at the grocery store at any time of the year. We have been removed from our natural tendency to live according to what the earth yields with the seasons.
Getting back in tune with the rhythm of the earth helps us live a more natural lifestyle. This can be done through eating seasonally and shopping at the local farmers’ market. To read more about the benefits of shopping locally, keep reading.
1. Eating Seasonally for Better Taste
Eating with the seasons makes the food taste better because it’s more flavorful, ripe, and fresher. Instead of buying fruit or vegetables that are picked before they are ripe so they may be shipped to your grocery store, local produce is harvested as late as possible.
Keeping pre-picked produce chilled in shipping containers reduces its flavor. A lot of the time, before these products are put on the market, they have to be artificially ripened before they’re sold. While this process might lead to products pleasing to their eye, they are not nearly as tasteful as local foods.
2. It’s Cheaper
The cost for produce decreases when farmers have a large yield of a specific item. If there is a food item in the store that is not in season, it is typically more expensive as there’s a more extensive process behind getting the nonseasonal food to the shelves at all times of the year.
Production costs also don’t get passed onto the consumer nearly as much. Providers don’t have to account for shipping and storing when everything is being sold locally.
3. Higher Nutritional Value
When food is frozen and stored for a long period of time, the nutritional value of the product declines. When produce ripens naturally, they have more nutrients.
Foods also provide us the nutrients needed during the times of the year they are in season. For example, grapefruit’s peak season is the wintertime. This can be attributed to them providing high vitamin C content. Vitamin C greatly helps reduce the chances of getting sick from cold and flu season in the winter.
Certain foods produced in the summertime may provide protective qualities from the sun while providing sustainable energy throughout the longer days. Foods produced in the fall and winter are heartier to supply nutrition for prolonged darkness and periods of cold weather.
It seems mother nature knows what our bodies need when they need it. Eating seasonally improves the chances of maximizing your health and wellness.
4. Local Farmers Market Foods Help You Avoid Artificial Dyes
Foods produced by local farmers tend to have fewer chemicals, artificial sprays and dyes, and preservatives in them. Produce at chain grocery stores tend to come from large, industrialized farms. This leads to the workers using more harsh chemicals on their products to be able to maintain such a large-scale production.
Local seasonal foods tend not to have many of these toxic chemicals in them. Smaller-scale farmers are able to keep up with their yield without adhering to low standards such as these. Eating food in season from your local farmers’ market keeps you healthier as you won’t be ingesting as many chemicals.
5. Environmentally Friendly
Shopping for seasonal products is environmentally friendly for a multitude of reasons. Of course, there are fewer chemicals and hazardous materials being used on your food and in the soil.
Secondly, there is little travel needed by you or farmers to deliver the local products. Thousands of miles worth of gas are saved by not having to transport the food.
Smaller farms also use more sustainable farming practices than industrialized farming. This reduces carbon footprint, EO2 emissions, and overconsumption.
6. Supports Local Economy
Buying from farmers at your nearest farmers’ market directly helps support your local economy. Putting your dollar towards the local community shows your advocacy for small, independent businesses. This is more important than ever due to the trying times that Covid-19 has brought smaller productions.
Your community’s sense of well-being increases through your support. You may make friends with the farmers, establishing a sense of camaraderie and networking within your community.
Local farmers also contribute their earnings back to local businesses. Many local farmers have partnerships with local co-ops, so supporting them is indirectly supporting other local businesses.
Your local farmers also care about their consumers, which makes the overall experience of buying their goods more enjoyable and personable.
7. Experiment With New Foods
One of the most fun benefits of eating seasonally is trying out new recipes you otherwise might have missed out on. This can make cooking less boring as your options diversify. If you’re keen on gaining more culinary skills, this can also challenge your abilities and spark your creativity.
Exploring new flavor profiles can lead to wonderful discoveries in the kitchen. In the fall, you may have an abundance of apples and get to try out all kinds of apple-related dishes like apple pie, apple cider, and apple crumble. Otherwise, in the summer, you might find yourself using watermelon on salads as a snack or juiced for a refreshing treat.
Connect With Local Farmers
Start eating seasonally by connecting with farmers at your local farmers’ market.
Local Fresh Bag helps connect farmers with consumers to establish a transparent budding relationship between each other. Consumers want healthy food and feel better knowing exactly where their products are coming from.
With Local Fresh Bag’s services, you can get that sense of reassurance while helping support local businesses. To register for their services, click here.
