Staying Local and Authentic

The contemporary grocery store is truly impressive—aisles of fresh produce available throughout the year, devoid of any indication of the season or region. Greek salad ingredients in January, autumn squash in spring, and radishes from spring during fall. While it’s convenient, is it truly sustainable? The answer is likely no.

There’s a growing realization that it’s more beneficial to eat according to what’s local and in season. However, before you consider a system that delivers fresh strawberries in the heart of winter as a marvel, it’s important to assess some of the shortcomings of the omnipresent grocery concept that offers everything all the time.

Distance

The distance our meal ingredients often travel can total thousands of kilometers; for instance, blackberries sourced from Mexico can be over 4,500 km away from Calgary, or snow peas from China can be around 11,000 km to Toronto. That’s an enormous amount of energy consumed for fuel and refrigeration just to get food from the farm to our tables.

Fragility

Our dependence on imported foods makes us susceptible to supply chain interruptions, climate-related crop issues, shifting political climates, and fluctuating energy prices.

Nourishment

Produce that is picked while still unripe and modified for long-distance transportation frequently sacrifices taste and nutritional value. At the same time, a variety of tasty and healthy regional foods remain absent from our globalized food marketplace.

Connection

By allowing our diets to reflect the local landscapes and the seasonal shifts, we cultivate a profound sense of place—something that is lost when neither geography nor time dictate our food choices.

Responsibility

Being close to our food sources means we’re more likely to be aware of issues, such as a local farmer contaminating a waterway or mistreating animals, fostering a sense of accountability that is diminished with distance.

Opportunity

Our current food system overlooks numerous chances to support local economies, nurture community ties, and enhance our personal empowerment and skills in sourcing our own food.

Bearing all this in mind, it seems reasonable to aim for a more localized food approach. However, in areas with limited growing seasons and considering that many might not wish to spend all their time in self-sufficient agriculture, how can we effectively pursue this goal?

Check often

One effective way to embrace a local and seasonal approach in mainstream grocery shopping is to consistently review labels. The stickers on fresh produce and the details on packaging indicate the country’s origin, sometimes even specifying the region. Regular label-checking is key—the same bag of apples that was sourced from Canada during the fall may now originate from New Zealand in spring.

Try: Define your own criteria for local eating and be vigilant about checking labels. You might allow yourself to enjoy citrus fruits from the U.S. during winter, but spotting oranges, grapefruits, or lemons from South Africa should make you reconsider their inclusion in your diet.

Put it up

Historically, countless families thrived without supermarkets, managing year-round nutrition through various preservation methods such as canning, drying, fermenting, and utilizing cold-storage techniques (like root cellars). Whether drawing from a home garden, harvest from u-pick farms, or bulk bargains from the store, we can adopt these time-tested preservation practices—and the modern freezer—to reduce our dependence on imported foods in winter.

Try: Invest in the essential tools for one preservation method and learn the necessary skills through workshops, literature, or by connecting with knowledgeable individuals.

Situate

How can we embrace place-based eating without recognizing our local context and the preferred methods of food production? In prairie regions, there is an abundance of local grains, seeds, pulses, and grass-fed beef or bison; coastal areas likely offer a wealth of fish, seafood, and seaweed options.

Try: Explore unique pantry staples that your area supplies, such as honey, maple syrup, various oils and fats, and herbs, and incorporate at least one into your meals regularly.

Swap out

It’s ideal to prepare meals that align with seasonal availability, such as roasted root vegetables in winter and grilled asparagus in spring. If that’s not feasible, we should approach our recipes with adaptability, ready to substitute with what’s locally available or seasonal.

Try: Winter tomatoes are rarely local, in season, flavorful, or cost-effective. Instead, you can recreate their vibrant taste and appearance using oranges, pomegranate seeds (available in-season in the U.S.), roasted peppers, red currants, or even tomatoes frozen from the summer; consider utilizing dried tomatoes or cranberries, or Canadian canned tomatoes as alternatives.

Take advantage

Unlike our ancestors who were predominantly self-reliant, we now have easy access to numerous services that simplify seasonal and place-conscious eating. Many cities maintain year-round farmers’ markets where you can find everything from frozen meats and berries to preserved items like pickles and dried fruits—provided by vendors who have already done the preservation work. Additionally, several Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs operate during winter, alongside grocery box subscriptions focused on sourcing local and seasonal produce all year long.

Try: Research food producers in your locality and ask about their winter offerings and if they provide bulk order discounts.

This article was originally published in the December 2023 issue of Daitrl magazine.