Seasonal eating these days By Penny & Ed Cherubino
While we know that many of our neighbors in the Northeast face hunger this year, it’s due to food prices, not supply. In the past, people went hungry because they had no crops to harvest at specific times. These times have been called the “Starving Season.”
Food Historian, Sarah Wassberg Johnson wrote, “Historically, the months of March and April have been the most dangerous time of year for eaters in northerly climes. A poor harvest or improper food preservation in the fall could lead to fasting and even starvation by May.”
Today, more of us are choosing to eat seasonally. More people are planting gardens or containers, shopping at farmers’ markets, joining CSAs, preserving our own food, and choosing to buy products with the least processing.
Grow Or Preserve Your Own
Last year, Aoide Magazine reported that, “There are over 43 million American households with a backyard vegetable garden, 51% of which preserve food with canning. Urban farming has seen a 30% growth in the last three decades. Ball and Kerr reports a 60% growth in food canning. Indoor hydroponic vertical gardening has seen a 3,000 % increase over traditional gardening. According to Scott’s Miracle Gro, 55% of Americans are involved with gardening and millions more are planning to do so.”
During the pandemic, we used an AeroGarden to grow herbs, and we replenished our scallions from the roots of the ones we had. Other neighbors began gardening on whatever scale their property allowed. Our building has had a community herb garden on our roof deck for many years. Community Gardens have waiting lists for plots in urban areas. In addition to growing food, the interest in foraging has increased with experts offering guided tours, books, and classes.
Why the Change?
Those of us changing our food sourcing are doing so for a variety of reasons. We love supporting local businesses and shop at places that support local producers. Buying directly from nearby farms protects our local food system and the land devoted to food production.
We also prefer to spend our food dollars on options with lower food miles, since shipping consumes a myriad of other resources. The time from the moment a product is picked, processed, packed, stored, and shipped affects flavor and nutrition.
In turn, this also means that large-scale producers must choose specific qualities in the varieties of food they grow. Flavor and nutrition are not at the top of the list. An article for farmers from Michigan State University advises, “Selecting the right seed for your farm starts and stops with profitability. You want to select two or three varieties that are adaptable and will maximize yields on your farm. When selecting varieties, the top two criteria should be yield potential, followed by disease resistance.”
By moving toward seasonal eating and choosing the most local options, we can enjoy more flavor and nutrition. It can also be budget-friendly. We choose not to buy the expensive new varieties of strawberries grown for flavor. We wait until strawberry season arrives and buy local berries every week until the season ends.
As the summer farmers’ markets reopen, we’ll visit twice a week and base our diet on what is in season. We’ll have asparagus in every way we can find. We’ll cherish the first radishes. Our meat and take-out selections will come from the vendors who supply those items to round out our market experience.
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