August is officially NH Eats Local Month. This is a chance to rally around the bounty of New Hampshire and thank all the farmers, fishermen, and food producers who work so hard to bring us delicious, beautiful local food. Let’s celebrate the power of food to bring us together and make us healthier, plus honor our choice to eat and support local food.
Four Great Reasons
to Eat Local
1. One of the most important reasons to eat local and seasonal is the health benefits. Seasonal foods are picked at the peak of freshness and offer a higher nutritional content. They are chock full of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, enzymes, and antioxidants that are important for optimal health.
Non-local foods are harvested early to help the food tolerate long distance shipping. This reduces nutrient density drastically. Studies have shown that produce loses nutrients each day after it has been harvested and after just three days it has lost 40 percent of its nutritional value.
Also, produce is often genetically engineered to facilitate packaging for these long trips. Transporting fruit and veggies can also expose them to irradiation to kill germs or preservatives like wax to protect the food during the trip while it is under refrigeration.
2. Eating local and in season is better for your wallet, too. It’s simple supply and demand. For example, think about the basil that is available to us in the Monadnock region during the winter months. We can spend as much as $5 or more on a puny container of limp and sometimes moldy basil from south America in January. Compare that to the fresh, vibrant, aromatic and over the top bunch you can get from a local farm stand or farmer’s market in the summer.
3. When you consider what is happening right now with floods and out of control forest fires, it just makes sense to support local farmers and fishers. The financial support you provide to them can have a major impact on sustainability of our local food supply. With fewer than 1 million Americans listing farming as their primary occupation, farmers are a vanishing breed. When you buy directly from a farmer you are re-establishing a time-honored connection between the grower and the eater. The same is true for fishers.
4. Finally, local, seasonal food just hands down tastes better. Generally, what affects nutrients also affects flavor. Compare those flavorless pulpy tomatoes available throughout the rest of the year to the ripe, delicious tomato from your garden or the farmers market – there is no comparison. Food grown in your community is usually picked within the last day or two.
For more information on events, contests, film screenings, local stories, and different fun ways to celebrate eat local this month check out https://nheatslocal.com. Here are some more ideas:
Eight ways to celebrate
NH Eats Local
1. Visit a farmer’s market every week in the month of August. You might even spread the wealth by visiting markets you have never visited before to expose yourself to different foods that are made here in NH.
2. Pick your own fruits and veggies. We have a lot to choose from in August in the Monadnock region including blueberries, raspberries, apples, peaches, and corn. Check this link for more information http://www.pickyourown.org/NHhillsborough.htm
3. Join the Monadnock Food Community Coalition (MFCC) Tour on Aug. 21 from 12 to 5 p.m. Seven Monadnock farms are opening their barns, pastures, hoop houses, and flower gardens, to foster a better understanding of their day-to-day lives working to bring food to our tables. This event is produced by MFCC and the Monadnock Food Coop. Learn more at https://www.MFCommunityCoalition.org
4. Support the Cornucopia Project. Our mission is to plant the seeds of a lifetime of healthy eating through garden, kitchen and farm education. Student farmers are offering nutritious fall produce from our Educational Farm in Peterborough, NH through our Bounty Bag program. And the Thanksgiving Bounty Box will be brimming with fresh herbs and produce for your gathering. My box last year lasted for several months! You can check it out here https://cornucopiaproject.org/farm-stand
5. Dine in restaurants that celebrate local food. Fortunately for us, we live in a farming community with easy access to great local food.
6. Buy herbs grown in NH and plant them in containers on your deck, patio, porch, or balcony. Herbs are a fantastic source of flavonoids, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals which are powerful disease fighter. They are also highly anti-inflammatory. But just as important, they make food taste delicious. You can easily get away with less unhealthy fats, sugar, and salt in cooking when you get creative with herbs.
7. Got a garden? Share your bounty. Everyone who loves vegetables loves them fresh. Having friends or family over? Like your neighbors? Fill paper bags with garden-fresh veggies and give them away. Email them your favorite recipes for cooking inspiration or tuck printed cards in each bag.
8. Try canning, freezing, or fermenting some fresh produce this month. It can be fun and a great way to enjoy food at the peak of flavor and nutrition in the winter months.
Eat local!
Ruth Clark, author of the best-selling book Cool the Fire: Curb Inflammation and Balance Hormones, is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a master’s in Public Health and over 35 years of experience. She lives in Sharon and her practice is 100% virtual. Ruth specializes in mid-life and older women who are struggling with weight, mood and fatigue to regain their energy and vitality. You can reach her at Ruth@RuthRD.com.