Picture this: you are strolling up and down the aisles of your supermarket doing your grocery shopping. Are you looking to buy fruits and vegetables? Have you ever wondered what it takes to get the food to your market? For the record, a lot goes into getting your food to a grocery store, between the harvesting, the costing, and the transportation.

What if I told you that there is a better way to save some money, reduce air pollution, and purchase the freshest produce possible RIGHT in your own community? Let’s dive right in.

First and foremost, local foods that you pick up from your community farmers market are fresher, tastier and more nutrient dense.

Local produce is picked at it’s ideal ripeness and because it is locally grown, there is minimal transportation involved in getting the produce from point A to point B. This leaves little room for transportation to tamper with the nutritional and physical condition of the produce. Less transportation also means that there is a reduction of fossil fuels used, making locally grown produce environmentally friendly.

Have you ever wondered why the prices of berries sky rockets during the winter and plummet during the summer? This is because berries are a fruit that is harvested in large quantities during the warm, summer months, making it more easily accessible.

Although our beloved fresh summer fruit goes out of season just as fast as it came in, there are other foods that are only in season during the fall and winter months! Fall produce like apples and winter produce like butternut squash are great items to purchase during the cooler months.

Purchasing seasonally and locally grown foods adds variety to your diet, while supporting our local farmers and our economy. Check out your local farmers market to see what you can purchase seasonally!