Fuel Your Body

Fresh, local and good for you, too!

In many areas of Canada, the growing season is particularly short due to our climate. Maintaining a “hundred mile diet” and eating fresh, local produce can be a real challenge – yet it can also be incredibly worthwhile, healthy and energizing.

Closer to the US border, it’s possible to begin to eat Spring vegetables as early as May (think asparagus, fiddle-heads) and once June rolls around, local markets begin popping up in all kinds of places. Generally, fresh and local vegetables and fruit will be available at these local markets through to Thanksgiving, or even the end of October – if the frost doesn’t get to them first.

Why should you make the effort to buy locally grown food? Well, for a start, it contains more flavour than supermarket food. The fresher the food, the tastier it is, and this depends largely on storage time. Food that is stored for long periods loses sugars and starch that greatly affects flavour.

Taste and texture also depends on where fruit and veg is grown and where animals are farmed and live. Greenhouses produce less flavoursome fruit and veg than that grown on good farmland.

Locally sourced food helps the environment in many ways. Most supermarket food will travel hundreds of miles to get to your shopping basket – and this is especially true in Canada – think of all the fruit and vegetables available in your supermarket in winter months that you know weren’t grown here (never mind the carbon footprint made getting it to your local store). Fresh, local produce on the other hand has minimal, less flashy packaging. Often, it’s just a plain paper bag. This not only has less impact on the flavour of the food, it reduces the use of natural resources.

And finally, the health benefits of fresh, local food are huge. The Canada Food Guide recommends 5 – 10 servings of fruit and veg per day: the quality of the food should be equally as important as the amount. Fruit and veg sourced locally is generally additive free and has more nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and sugars because of the reduced time between harvest and eating. Studies in health and diet reveal that eating fresh, local produce improves digestion and disturbed sleep.

Find out where the locals markets are in your neighbourhood:
Vancouver | Montreal | Moncton | Alberta | Ontario


By Joanna Gertler
(published September 08, 2010)