they call them locavores- people who choose to eat seasonal, local produce.  today i’m kicking off a new series about eating local produce, where i’ll share with you a weekly recipe using local yummies!  first you may ask, why eat local? well, there are tons of reasons, the simplest of which is that it just makes sense.  the average mileage of your food, (we’ll call this farm to fork mileage) is 1500 to 3000 miles, and that’s a lot of fossil fuel! when produce has to travel so far, much of it is picked while still unripe then gassed to ‘ripen’ it after transport, or it is processed in factories with preservatives and the like.  scientists are even experimenting with genetic modification to produce less perishable produce.

by purchasing local foods in-season, you eliminate the environmental damage caused by shipping foods thousands of miles, your food dollar goes directly to the farmer, and your family will be able to enjoy the health benefits of eating fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables. buying seasonal produce also provides an exciting opportunity to try new foods and to experiment with seasonal recipes.

the good news is, local produce is usually easy to find and it simply tastes better because it’s fresher!

above is a list of the veggies you’ll find at your spring farmers market. remember that certain crops and harvest dates depend on the climate and your region, so this is just a rough outline (check out this regional seasonality guide for your area).  as you can see, spring is almost over, but i’m going to post a recipe next week anyways and then introduce to you your summer guide! i’ve also made this list in pdf format, so you can print it out and keep with you while your shopping or scouring for recipes.

download the seasonal spring vegetable guide

 
 
recommended reading

read my favorite book and get incredibly inspired to eat locally with animal, vegetable, miracle.

find local, organic and sustainable food in your area with the eat well guide search.

learn about eating more sustainably and find recipes at the sustainable table.

join the eat more local food initiative at eat local, america!

{resources: the sustainable table, cuesa sustainability}

wrap up: {eating local} {locavore} {seasonal vegetables} {spring} {sustainable}