5 Benefits to Eating Seasonal Foods
From supporting local suppliers to saving you money, there are some great benefits for you and the environment when it comes to eating seasonal foods.
But let’s quickly explain what eating in season means. With every season comes a variety of fruits and vegetables that flourish in the different conditions, for example the colder Autumn and Winter months are ideal for growing apples, whereas Spring and Summer is perfect for beetroot. Below you’ll find the 5 benefits to eating seasonal foods, just see how each point links nicely to the next.
It’s healthier for you
Seasonal food is fresher, tastier and more nutritious as it hasn’t travelled so far. Pesticides, waxes and preservatives are often used to preserve foods that are out of season as vegetables start losing their nutrients straight after they’re picked. So the quicker they get to your plate the better.
A lot of the seasonal produce in our farm shop is organic. There are no pesticides, no nasties. Just vegetables full of key nutrients.
Did you know? Steaming some of your vegetables is a great way to lock in flavour and nutrients that can sometimes be lost when boiling.
There’s plenty of variety all year-round
With every season comes a new batch of vegetables, which means there’s always plenty of variety when it comes to trying new recipes.
Our production team absolutely love using the seasonal vegetables that come straight from our field. Whether it’s going into a soup served in the café or some pastries in the deli, it’s all made with the best seasonal food the farm has to offer.
Want to know what’s in season right now?
It saves you money
When farmers are harvesting lots of produce because it’s in season, you’ll see the cost of the produce going down. Locally sourced vegetables won’t need storage and have smaller travelling expenses, which means that saving is passed on to you.
Did you know? Summer is berry season. So you don’t have to dig deep into your pocket for great tasting strawberries during the summer months.
Better for the environment
Seasonal produce is grown in its natural state. So, there’s no need for unnecessary chemicals leaking into our water and ecosystems. At Farrington’s we’re really proud of our organic fields, and for good reason. Our farm team use a netting rather than unnatural chemicals to encourage the organic crops to grow, as well as weeding them by hand. It may be a labour-intensive job, but it’s the only way to get rid of weeds that could eventually strangle the crops.
It’s also important to point out that eating the seasons helps reduce the amount of CO2 emissions released in our atmosphere. How? Well the amount of energy needed to grow and transport the food we eat is dramatically reduced when it comes from a local source. Just remember, fewer food miles means a smaller impact on the environment.
Find out more about how we help our environment.
It supports local suppliers
It goes without saying, if you’re buying something grown locally to you then you’re promoting sustainable living for farmers and the community. Smaller farms are more labour intensive, so if you buy what they have to offer then they’ll see more of the profit.
Our farm shop has a huge range of produce from local suppliers as well as organic crops grown from our very own fields.
