Eat With the Seasons: How to Find the Best Possible Produce

 

Why eat in-season?

When it comes to buying produce, most people pay attention to what's in-season mainly for reasons like freshness and price. It's true that veggies grown in the optimal season are more tasty and nutritious, and cost much less than they do in off-seasons. What many people don't think about much is why out-of-season veggies cost more, and how the environmental footprint of a fruit or veggie you buy at the supermarket changes drastically from one season to the next.

The amount of resources it takes to grow a plant, such as water, fertilizer, and energy from fossil fuels, changes based on where and when it's grown, and the difference can be very large between plants grown in optimal regions in the ideal season, and plants grown in non-optimal conditions in the off-season. A strawberry in the summer is usually fresh, sourced from somewhere nearby, and grown with minimal resources in peak-season. A strawberry you buy in the winter likely traveled at least half-way across the world before making it into your shopping basket, or otherwise was grown in sub-standard conditions, requiring extra chemicals and energy to produce. Buying what's local and in-season is just as important for living sustainably as it is for eating nutritiously and saving money.

How to Find In-Season Fruits and Veggies

• Visit the Fruits and Vegetables Harvest Calendar on the Mizzou Agriculture Bulletin site for an easy-to-read chart of general harvest times for all kinds of fruits and veggies.
• Take a look at this guide to in-season fruits and veggies from the US Department of Agriculture for a list separated by season. You can see what's freshest in spring, summer, fall, and winter, and click on any of the fruits or veggies in the list to see recipes, nutritional information, and more.
• Want to buy local? Simplesteps.org has a month-by-month guide, and you can search the local foods available in any state in the US.
• Find a Local Farmer's Market: Here you can find a list of all the farmer's markets in Missouri, as well as a schedule of the days and hours they run. If you visit the Columbia Farmer's Market website, you can see a list of all the vendors and even search for specific products to see what they have to offer.
• Eat Local this Winter: When the weather gets cold, the farmer's market moves indoors, but it's still a great place to buy local produce, meats, and dairy products through the winter. From December 3 through March 11, the Winter Market is held on Saturdays at the Parkade Center. You can see the complete list of dates and locations on their website.

Original photo in feature image from user Dungodung on Wikipedia, modifications made.