How to Eat Local

Here’s a fun guest post on eating local food from James Kim, from foodonthetable.com. Enjoy!

 

You hear the benefits of eating local preached on television, in the news, and in your

supermarket. Eating local can minimize air pollution while strengthening the local

economy. So how can you start eating local in your meal planning? Follow these easy

tips to become a “locavore” (and have fun doing it).

Know Your Seasons

Sure, you could probably buy watermelon in December in our super-globalized

economy. But this kind of out-of-season buying tacks on miles to food’s travel time,

thereby maximizing air pollution. No good for the environment! Do what you can to eat

seasonally to limit you food’s carbon footprint. Smart Living provides a search engine

which lists off the seasonal foods for each state.

Need help remembering your seasonal produce? Make rituals. If you bake a peach crisp

every summer, you will associate this fruit with its season. Easy as that!

Farmers’ Markets

 

It’s always fun to visit farmers’ markets. The people watching, the rows of food, the

sense of community — it’s a great way to spend the afternoon. Of course, the best

part about visiting a farmers’ market is meeting the people who have spent their days

nurturing and growing your food. Find a farmers’ market near you by visiting the USDA

website, which contains a farmers’ market search engine.

Take a Field Trip

 

Remember the good ol’ days of field trips? Relive them by taking a field trip to a nearby

farm. Here, you can learn about your local foods straight from the source. Find a local

farm in your area on the Eat Wild website.

There are tons of others ways to put your local diet into action. For example, visit a u-

pick farm. In these farms, you can pick you local food straight off the land and pay for

what you’ve picked when your done. Try the Pick Your Own website to find a u-pick

farm near you.

Eating local doesn’t have to be a chore. It’s a great way to get closer to your community,

eat fresher food, and educate yourself!

James Kim is a writer for foodonthetable.com. Food on the Table is a company

that provides online budget meal planning services. Their goal is to help families

eat better and save money.