Walk into any grocery store no matter the time of year, and you’ll likely find red ripe strawberries, bright green broccoli, and many other fruits, vegetables, and grains that are staples of our day-to-day grocery list. You wouldn’t be able to determine what season of the year we’re in based on what’s available in your produce section, and, if you’re like many Americans, you might not even know when certain foods are in season, since what’s available in our stores year-round doesn’t give you any clues.
Different parts of the globe have different growing seasons for produce and grains. That means that even though in your part of the country the weather conditions might not be right for growing, say, cucumbers, there are other places on the planet where the conditions are just right. Cucumber season in this other part of the world means that those cucumbers can be picked, packed into boxes, and shipped halfway across the world to land in your grocery store, no matter what season of the year it is in your locale. We’ve all grown used to having access to our favorite fruits and veggies, no matter what the weather conditions are outside our windows.
What’s so wrong with that?
When it comes to getting in your nutrients, having access to all kinds of off-season produce is convenient. But there is something to be said about seasonal eating and the extra nutritional punch it brings.Seasonal eating means to eat fruits and vegetables that are harvested in your region during their peak. Even better is to eat what is in season that has been farmed with organic standards. Take a look at what seasonal eating can do for you and for the environment:
Taking care of our planet: Those cucumbers you can get anytime, anywhere in our grocery stores today? It takes a lot of planes, trains, and automobiles for it to arrive on your store’s shelf. To ensure that your produce arrives from a long journey looking fresh, pesticides and waxes are often used to preserve the produce. That double-whammy of chemicals, both in energy costs to transport the produce and in the preserving process, can have long term impacts on our environment.1
Fresh test: Sure, those shiny apples and glossy grapes look fresh…but are they? Really? Produce shipped in from other areas may have been picked weeks before, processed, packed, and then shipped to you. But produce begins losing its nutrients as soon as it’s picked, in some cases losing up to half of some of its nutrients within two days of being harvested. When instead you look for local produce that has been picked right before you buy it, you’re literally doubling the nutritional value over shipped produce.2
All about that taste: Sweeter berries, heartier flavors, produce grown and picked in season typically have more robust flavor.
Working with nature: There’s an ‘intelligence,’ if you will, when it comes to the produce we eat. They seem to ‘know’ when they’re supposed to be grown for the biggest nutritional punch. For example, a study from the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition showed that broccoli grown in the fall boasts more vitamin C than broccoli grown in the spring.3 Should you eat spring-grown broccoli when it’s available? Sure. But plants do give us better nutrition when we consume them when their nutritional value is highest. Researchers have found a similar phenomenon with strawberries. Local in-season strawberries have higher antioxidant levels than strawberries from the off-season. Just because we have the resources and technology to force grow certain types of produce does not mean that we get the same nutritional benefits.4
Where to start: Check out your local farmer’s markets. Depending on your area, you may also have some wonderful berry picking patches and local gardens available to you. Check out the foodwise.org site for a fantastic online tool where you can put in your location and discover what produce is in season in your area. For a quick start, here is a list of summer produce that is typically available across the U.S.:
Tomatoes
Corn
Berries
Zucchini and Squash
Spinach, kale, and Swiss chard
Peaches
Nectarines
Seasonal eating may take a little more intentionality and detective work than just popping into your local grocery store, but the flavors, nutrients, and the way our bodies respond to the summer season make it worth it. Try a few strawberries from your local berry patch. Visit the leafy greens stall at the organic farmer’s market. You might just discover a whole new world of taste and health when you do!
1 https://www.rd.com/list/things-you-never-knew-about-grocery-store-produce/#:~:text=Pesticides%20and%20waxes%20might%20be%20used%20after%20harvesting&text=%E2%80%9CNon%2Dorganic%20citrus%2C%20especially,after%20picking%20to%20maintain%20freshness.
2 https://research.reading.ac.uk/research-blog/frozen-and-tinned-foods-can-be-just-as-nutritious-as-fresh-produce-heres-how/#:~:text=Fruits%20and%20vegetables%20begin%20to,being%20lost%20after%20being%20picked.
3 Bergquist, S. Å., Gertsson, U. E., & Olsson, M. E. (2006). Influence of growth stage and postharvest storage on ascorbic acid and flavonoids in broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica). International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 57(3-4), 293-300.
4 Wang, S. Y., & Zheng, W. (2001). Effect of plant growth temperature on antioxidant capacity in strawberries. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 49(10), 4977-4982.