A while back I made a resolution to eat sustainable, locally grown food as much as possible. I’ve done my best, but it’s next to impossible to grow or find seasonal locally grown food year-round in New England.  When those cold winter months kick in there’s not a lot growing in our area and we have no choice but to depend upon local markets to bring in produce from other places.

I want my kids to know where their food comes from

The supermarkets neatly package our food and everything is ready for immediate consumption.  As we’re going up and down the aisles we generally don’t give much thought to where our food comes from.  Most food travels far to reach us- from another state or another country.  The grocery store knows no seasons-you can buy organic strawberries in December although they were grown in June and corn throughout the year. Don’t get me wrong-I’m very grateful that this produce is available year-round, but I want my kids to understand the difference.

Ways to connect with food

CSA

Many years ago we joined a CSA (consumer supported agriculture). Every week our box is filled with interesting fruits and vegetables grown on a local, organic farm. My kids are interested in what comes in the box each week and it gives us a chance to talk about where the local, seasonal food is coming from.

Farmer’s Market

I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and spent many Saturdays going to the incredible farmer’s market. It happens to be the largest producer-only farmers’ market in the country. Now that I live on the East Coast I’ve discovered small farmer’s markets while on vacation and larger markets in neighboring towns. Farmer’s market’s can be found through out the world and they range from large to small, but they all have one thing in common: farmers selling directly to consumers without a middle man. When you buy direct from a farmer you’re recreating a connection between the land and the food you eat.

Grow your own

We decided this year to carve out a small garden in our yard and grow some of our own vegetables. HERE are a few photos of  the beginning stages of our garden. It’s extremely small since we don’t get very much sunlight around our house.  But that small patch of land has a few plants that are growing like crazy.

I know that our garden isn’t going to be a big producer of veggies and it’s not going to impact our weekly shopping list. Our kids are my motivation for planting a garden. They scan the garden daily looking for something ripe enough to pick. When they had friends over this week they all picked one cucumber and divided it into 5 pieces to share. It doesn’t get much better then that.

Check out this incredible plant in our garden. My friends on Facebook and Twitter helped me figure out what it is. Can you guess?

Finally we are seeing small vegetables growing on this gorgeous plant. Can you see what they are?

Looking for what’s local and seasonal in your area? There’s an app or two for that!

How do you connect with your food? Do you grow your own, go to farmer’s markets or join a CSA?

This post is part of  the another fabulous Green Moms Carnival carnival hosted this month by the wonderful Abbie of  Farmer’s Daughter.  Be sure to stop by Farmer’s Daughter next week for lots of great information on ways we can all work towards becoming more food independent.