No matter where you spend your Saturday mornings in the summer, you will likely be close to a local farmer’s market.
If you don’t already have a routine of attending these markets, read on to learn why it’s important for your health. Not only is there a bounty of beautiful produce to choose from, but also buying local and in-season has multiple benefits.
Lower costs and environmental impact
Since local foods do not have high transport costs to reach the end user, they are both less expensive and have a lower environmental impact. This can add up to a lot of savings on your weekly grocery bill. It also helps to support the local economy and maintain farmland and green space in your community.
Higher nutrient content
A short distance from farm-to-table allows produce to be picked ripe when it is most dense with nutrients. Fruits and vegetables start to lose their nutrients within 24 hours of being picked. Vitamin C levels are particularly affected by prolonged transportation and storage time, as is the bioavailability of iron.
Safer food supply
The more steps there are between the source of the food and its final destination, the more chances there are for food contamination. From harvesting to washing to storage and distribution, there are many opportunities for things to go wrong with handling, cleanliness of containers, or refrigeration.
Every year, millions of dollars of produce are wasted as food rots during transit time.
If you can’t get to a farmer’s market, ordering from a local CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) or food box program is another option. These providers will either include a weekly delivery to your home or drop off at a central pick-up location. Food box programs typically allow you to customize what is included in your box.
One such option that delivers to Oakville is Plan b Organic Farms.
I like to go and peruse the aisles at a farmer’s market and then build my meals around what I buy. But if you want to meal plan and make a list in advance, here is a guide to what is available locally by month in Ontario so you can know what produce will be in stock when you get there.
Oakville Civitan farmers' market takes place every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Dorval Crossing until Nov. 25.
