Eco Etiquette: How To Eat Local This Winter

For those of us in the Midwest, summer is so much easier when it comes to eating local -- lots of farmers markets stocked with goodies from local growers, bakers and purveyors. Now those little meccas of low-impact food are closed for the season. Any suggestions for how we can continue to lesson our impact on the environment as we head back indoors for our grocery shopping?

-Maggie

Say what you will about the smog and traffic in Los Angeles, but it's pretty darn fantastic to be able to pedal on over to my local farmer's market year-round. That's one of the advantages of living in sun-soaked California, the nation's breadbasket. San Joaquin Valley, to the north, produces nearly half of all the fruits, nuts, and vegetables sold in the United States (though that number has declined in the past three years due to drought); San Diego County, to the south, has more farms than any other county in the country.

These agricultural tidbits went largely unnoticed by me until a trip to Boston in the dead of winter a few years back, after I had already moved out West, when I realized that it was only in LA that grocery stores offered almost entirely local produce; even the Beantown Whole Foods I visited featured -- you guessed it -- California's finest fruitage.

Believe it or not, you don't have to live in the Golden State to enjoy farm-fresh food 365 days a year; there are winters farmers markets, even in some darn-cold areas of the country. The Chicago Green City Market, for example, runs year-round, and will feature 47 vendors this winter. But just because farmers markets elsewhere are closing up shop doesn't mean you should just throw in the CO2 towel and start buying anemic-looking tomatoes and asparagus that have been flown in from Chile to the local Jewel. Want to know how to procure farm-fresh, local food even in a four-foot snowstorm? The answer is as simple as C-S-A.

For those who aren't familiar with community supported agriculture (CSA), it's pretty much like buying a subscription to a local farm: You pay a fee, usually per growing season, and in return receive a share of fresh, locally nurtured fruits and vegetables -- some farms even offer dairy, eggs, and meat. The great thing about a CSA is that you enjoy whatever is in season: Depending on where you live, that can mean spring peas and asparagus in April; strawberries and corn in July; and apples and sweet potatoes in October.

With the spread of the local, organic food movement, CSAs have become very popular in recent years; so much so that many are now offering winter goodies to help keep their shareholders happy and not-so-fat (thanks to nutritious eating). A friend who recently finished an internship with Illinois' Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm told me that selective freezing enables the farm to offer its pasture-raised chicken and humanely bred Angus beef even throughout a brutal Chicago winter.

I did a survey of CSAs around the country and found that surprisingly, winter offerings can be quite diverse: Garden of Eve's farm share on the East End of Long Island includes stored vegetables like beets, rutabagas, and winter squash, as well as organic eggs; Laughing Stock Farm in Freeport, Maine, offers fresh salad greens and baby carrots from its greenhouse (which is heated with a renewable fuel, of course); and Hog's Back Farm in Arkansaw, Wis., delivers cold-hardy crops like broccoli and kale to pick-up sites in nearby Minneapolis and St. Paul. To search for a CSA that offers a winter share in your area, check out the LocalHarvest website. But don't wait -- many are already sold out for the season.

Reducing your carbon footprint and supporting good health are important reasons to join a CSA, but I think an equally compelling consideration right now is to support your local farmers -- and your community -- through this economic winter.

Send all your eco-inquiries to Jennifer Grayson at [e-mail]. Questions may be edited for length and clarity.

 

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Comments

[hippie4ever]

05:49 PM on 11/11/2009

Yes it's true we have year-round farmers markets in California, but some sell foods grown in greenhouses. That's okay but lots of that stuff lacks flavor and I believe it's healthier to eat winter foods in winter, summer foods in summer. More eco-responsible too: besides squash, beets, sweet potatoes, consider kale, chard, spinach, nuts. If you don't like those foods consider a cooking class: all healthy food properly prepared should be delicious. If you're bored you need to improve your culinary skills.

[BannedNBoston]

04:35 PM on 11/11/2009

I have eaten so much butternut squash (local) this year
It makes me queasy looking at it.
A good food to stock up for the winter is sweet potatoes.

[jimrs6]

04:04 PM on 11/11/2009

Did you see the report where CSA's end up having a substantially larger carbon footprint because the large farms are much more efficient even though they are farther away??

[Jennifer Grayson]

05:15 PM on 11/11/2009

I find that hard to believe, since most CSAs use sustainable farming methods and are only available to subscribers within a short driving distance. Can you post the link to that report here?

[nevergiveup]

04:56 PM on 11/13/2009

I doubt the veracity of that report. Big Ag ships food an average of 1500 to 2000 miles.

Small sustainable farms do no such thing. I question your comment on CSA's. Sounds like "corporate speak" to me.

[Carrick]

01:33 PM on 11/11/2009

Don't ignore Florida.

Our prime growing season for fruits and vegetables is winter. There are farmers markets and local farm outlets and stands in every area. Ignore the supermarkets as they'll import fresh food from far away rather than buying locally, if they can get it cheaper. At the height of the citrus and strawberry harvest, my local Publix market was pushing oranges from California and Mexico instead of the Florida grown fruit.

If you live outside Florida, I strongly urge people to buy Florida, Texas and Arizona grown produce in stead of the imported products. If you live out west, of course, buy western grown produce, but check to see that it's not imported from Chile or Mexico. Don't just look at the distributor location, which may buy up and package and distribute produce from almost everywhere. Ask your produce manager for the sources. Ask that displays be labeled honestly.

[Jennifer Grayson]

04:59 PM on 11/11/2009

Totally! Florida actually ranks second in the nation in specialty crop production:

http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/press/2009/03302009.html

I'll add this to your advice: It's often better for the environment to buy conventional produce that's conventional than organic produce that's been flown a great distance. Stick to the EWG's "Clean 15," and you can drastically limit your pesticide exposure:

http://www.theredwhiteandgreen.com/2009/03/13/pick-out-the-pesticides/

[yemaya]

10:00 AM on 11/12/2009

Thanks for the link. I downloaded the clean 15 handy shopper guide and passed it on to my loved ones!

[jones]

12:45 PM on 11/11/2009

good idea! I should ask around here in Western NY since we have alotta small farms.

[Jennifer Grayson]

04:01 PM on 11/11/2009

In addition to the LocalHarvest website listed above, you might find this New York state CSA directory helpful:

http://www.nofany.org/dbapplet/csadirectory.html

[camb94]

12:20 PM on 11/11/2009

One local CSA is Abundant Harvest Organics. For $20 a week I get a box full of veggies and fruit, all organic -- often it is so much, I can't finish it (and that is a family of 4). It is great fun because I have often gotten things that I would never buy or have no idea what to do with, but I get to try new things. Everything is local and they deliver to a local spot once a week, where I pick it up. As an added bonus, we get a letter from coordinating farmer, often with recipes and his thoughts, and we know all of the farmers by name. I had gone to farmer's markets in the past, but this is MUCH cheaper, and feels more like a community.

[Amanda D]

11:48 AM on 11/11/2009

What a great tip! Living in New England, I've always just assumed that local grown foods were a seasonal treat. There's definitely great opportunity for business-minded individuals to bring local, healthy foods to the mainstream market. Imagine being able to purchase pre-made, locally grown, organic fast food? There's good to be done here and money to be made. Here's one person's vision of such a fast-food chain: http://tiny.cc/EvoLU

[Jennifer Grayson]

05:12 PM on 11/11/2009

Thanks, Amanda! Have you heard about vegetarian fast-food restaurant Nature's Express? It only has a couple locations so far, but it's a pretty cool concept:

http://www.theredwhiteandgreen.com/2009/10/19/meatless-monday-vegetarian-fast-food/