Eating Local, Eating Fresh

Eating locally does wonders for our carbon footprint! A carbon footprint refers to the amount of Carbon dioxide gas that is released in making the things we use. Carbon dioxide contributes to warming temperatures in the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. A smaller carbon footprint is better for conservation of nature than a large one.

A good portion of the emissions in our food system comes from the transport of food in the form of trucks burning gas and the energy required to refrigerate or store produce. This doesn’t even consider the emissions from processing ready-to-eat foods or shelf stable goods.

This short video by Nourish puts the importance of local eating in perspective: https://www.nourishlife.org/2012/05/video-michael-pollan-why-eat-local/



Seasonal Food Wheel Activity

The website Local Harvest helps you locate local farms and CSAs and lists what produce they have during each season: https://www.localharvest.org/  
In this activity, you can fill in the wheel with your favorite fresh produce and anticipate when you can buy it at your local farmers’ markets.

1. Print and cut out the wheel and ¾ wheel cover here.
2. On the wheel, write the in-season fruits and veggies in their corresponding season.
3. Put the ¾ cover on top of the wheel and secure the center with a brat or pin.
4. Now you can see what produce is in season year-round!