I would like to encourage you all (and myself) with a few benefits to buying local produce. Unfortunately, here in America we are offered large grocery stores averaging 47,000 items made up of many food “products” (the idea of food), food packed with preservatives and “picked too early” produce that is available year around. We have lost the beautiful idea of local and seasonal produce. Here’s some benefits to buying locally.

–Nutrition: Local produce is fresh! Here’s the deal, when produce has a long way to travel, farmers don’t allow the produce to fully ripen. Then, they have to refrigerate it so it doesn’t go bad during transportation and depending on how far its going, the farmer often has to use preservatives and chemicals to kill off bacteria. Sometimes they just use that stuff to make it look good i.e.: wax coating on apples. This obviously effects the nutritional value and taste of the produce. Local produce does not go through this long and strenuous journey but instead basks in the sun until it is fully ripened. This local produce process also creates an awesome thing called “variety”. You see, not all fruits and vegetables are in season all year around. A beautiful thing about locally grown produce is that we actually get to experience the seasons through our produce. We can look forward to those yummy little blueberries in the summer and the hardy butternut squash in the fall. Yum!

–Economy: Local produce is economical! When we choose in season locally grown produce we are buying the produce that is being harvested in abundance at that time. This causes the price to go down and we save money! Purchasing from local farms also supports our local economy. Our country, our state, our counties, and our towns. This is a great thing for us, our farming neighbors and the produce industry. By choosing local produce we are sending a message to food industry companies that says we don’t want unripened, chemical infused, refrigerated produce. Maybe someday soon they will start getting the idea!

–Environment:  Local produce is green! And by green I mean better for the earth. CO2 is released into the atmosphere by the vehicles used to carry food. The less travel means the less CO2 released. So, buy locally and, well, save the earth a little bit!

Being that I live in California, here is a harvest calendar for our Cali readers. And for all of us in the US here is a farmer’s market search site to find a local farmer’s market near you. Let’s make a choice to stay local, stay in-season, and stay fresh!

That’s my jam!

Kristle