Wellness

I’m sure you’ve heard people talking about eating local and why it’s so important. But have you found yourself saying, “What’s really the point?” or “This is just some kind of fad for all those yuppies or veggie-eating hippies”? Well, for all the doubters out there, I’m here to tell you yes it is important and no it’s not a fad. And actually, eating local is easier and cheaper than you’d think. Here are my top five favorite reasons to eat locally grown food:

1. Local produce is fresher. Produce grown outside of our region is picked before it’s ripe, gets packed and/or cold-stored for days and does its final ripening in transport, whereas locally grown oftentimes has been picked within 24 hours of your purchase. This affects not only taste but nutritional value as well.

2. Taste. Have you ever tasted a tomato that has just been picked? Now compare that flavor to a tomato you bought at the grocery store in mid-February.

3. A smaller carbon footprint. Flying mangos in from South America requires fuel for the plane and additional power for cooling and storing. Food grown locally releases much less CO2 into the air.

4. It’s good for the local economy. When farmers sell food to local customers they receive close to full retail value. When food is exported, most of the money goes towards transportation, processing, packaging, refrigeration, etc.

5. It’s cheaper. Eating in-season fruits and vegetables not only adds more variety to your diet, it adds more money to your wallet. Have you seen the cost of cherries in January?

Now, get to the market and pick up some yummy local calabaza (pumpkin). Here’s a link to my recipe for Roasted Pumpkin and Apple Soup to get you started. Enjoy!