Eat Seasonal, Eat Local

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I grew up eating fresh vegetables from my mother’s large garden. While I didn’t appreciate it at the time, this really gave me a sense of what eating seasonally is all about. There are so many benefits!

  • Eating seasonally provides health benefits by providing variety. You are eating different foods as they are in season vs. eating the same foods year round.

  • When you eat seasonally, fewer resources are needed to ship foods that are out of season.

  • Foods that are local will be more nutrient dense because they get to your plate faster.

  • Produce that is in season tends to be more affordable and tastes better!

One way you can start to understand which foods are in season is to go to your local farmers market, or join a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture). If you are in the Charlottesville area, we have a fabulous market with many local options for produce, meat, and dairy products, plus much more!

For Charlottesvillians, here are some of my favorite market vendors.

Bellair Farm CSA

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I’ve been a member for at least five years now, and I really love their vegetables. The farm is amazing. They have a deep appreciation for the land and it’s history, and they continue to improve their offers. You don’t need to be a member; you can purchase from them at the Saturday Farmer’s Market at IX Park.

https://www.bellairfarm.com/

Wandering River Farm

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Wandering River is in Ivy and their meats are amazing! As someone who was raised vegetarian, eating meat where the animals are raised in a kind and natural way is important to me. Also, the woman who sells their products at the Saturday Farmer’s Market at IX Park is pretty awesome.

https://wanderingriver.farm/

Cold Country Salmon

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Salmon has always been my favorite fish. With concerns about contamination in fish and questionable practices for many farm-raised fish sold at the grocery store, I have been so pleased with this farmer’s market option. They go to Alaska every year to fish in a way that is sustainable, flash freeze the fish and bring it back to us. While the fish aren’t swimming up Virginia streams (darn it!), this feels like a really good option for high-quality fish. Their prices are good, and they even have a delivery option if you can’t make it to the Saturday Farmer’s Market at IX Park.

https://coldcountrysalmon.com/

The Saturday market has many more vendors, and SNAP benefits are accepted at the market. I appreciate access to good food, and there’s so much work that needs to be done to provide access to fresh healthy foods to everyone.