Why Eat Seasonally?

Published: May 9, 2019

We all know that eating seasonally means consuming local produce purchased around the time that it’s harvested, however, what does eating seasonally actually mean for you?

Save Money, Eat Better

Studies show fruits and vegetables contain more nutrients when they’re allowed to ripen naturally on their parent plant. When you buy seasonal food grown in your area, you’re purchasing that food’s peak nutritional value and availability to the market. That means that it’s not only better for you, but it also costs farmers and distributors less to harvest and stock that food at your grocery store, so you’ll pay less, too. A win-win!

Compare that to out-of-season produce. When you buy food out-of-season, it has to be harvested early (instead of ripening on the parent plant) so that it can be shipped and distributed to your local grocery store. It’s shipped from farther away, at a higher cost, so you’re effectively paying more for less nutritious—and often, worse-tasting—produce.

Additionally, the health impacts of the pollution of growing crops out of season and ship them across the world are significant. Airfreight—flying produce from where it’s grown to where it’s consumed—creates about 4x more carbon emissions than truck transport, which means buying locally can significantly cut emissions. And the shorter the distance our produce has to travel to get to us, the less pollution its transport creates. This is another critically important reason to eat locally and seasonally.

Support Your Local Economy

Another benefit of eating seasonally: when you eat local, seasonal food, the money you spend stays in your community by going to local farmers and growers, who can then reinvest it in other local businesses. In addition, seasonal food that’s grown, processed, and distributed locally to restaurants and grocery stores generates jobs and helps stimulate local economies. That means you can literally choose where your money goes when you select your produce: to large corporate growers or local farmers in your area.

Where Can I Buy Seasonally?

First, use the Seasonal Food Guide and find out what is in season right now in your state. Then, sign up at a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), or shop a local farmers market or co-op!

Purchasing locally grown not only helps support local farmlands, but it also maintains open space in your community. In a United States Department of Agriculture study, it is found that direct-to-consumer producers are less likely to apply pesticides and herbicides to control weeds and insects than conventional producers (with the exception of chemicals to control insects and weeds in fruit, nut and berry crops). Consuming seasonal produce benefits everyone!

Download our Ultimate Guide to Picking & Storing Produce