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Eating local vegetables is beneficial from both a nutritional and a human relations standpoint.
Food that’s produced locally doesn’t have to travel long distances to reach our plates, which helps eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and, more importantly, it avoids the loss of freshness and nutritional quality that can occur with products that have been imported from far away.
Eating locally-produced food provides us with opportunities to develop a bond with local farmers, for example while shopping at our neighbourhood market or when picking up our vegetable baskets. It's an opportunity to connect with the realities of our local farmers, their challenges and their success. It’s also a way to support our local economy. In these challenging times, there’s nothing more important than strengthening these ties and building resilience to help us face both present and future challenges.
It’s also a great way to reconnect with our Northern diet, to better understand the seasonal nature of our agriculture and the bountiful diversity of vegetables that are available at different times of the year.
To appreciate the seasonal availability of our Quebec vegetables
October is the time to take advantage of the few remaining weeks of harvest — tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, eggplants, and beans can all be preserved and then enjoyed well into the next year!
November is the time to stock up on root vegetables, when beets, carrots, onions, radishes, and rutabagas are available. Store them in a cool, dry place and you’ll be able to enjoy them for months!
December is when, in addition to our carefully preserved root vegetables, we are able to enjoy leafy greens grown in greenhouses. Under these conditions, spinach and kale slightly lose their bitterness and become even sweeter!
During the fall and winter months, many family farmers, from the Gaspé to the Outaouais region, continue to offer organic vegetable baskets, providing you with their finest fresh products. Signing up for organic baskets from the Family Farmers Network is one way to guarantee that you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of food and, at the same time, continue to support the local economy! Go to our interactive map today and sign up for the winter season.
