Finding Fresh Food, No Matter the Season

Even in the dark of winter, you don't have to forage for fresh, local food

Farmer's markets are gone but not forgotten during the winter months.

Image credit: Photo by focusedcapture via Creative Commons

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Put Up Your Cukes

By: Lauren Peck

As December looms before us once again, we are all set to bundle up and resign ourselves to the coming cold, dark and, of course, snow. However, the grimness doesn’t have to be reflected in your winter diet, shelling out money to pay for expensive food imported from warmer climates. While our state is notorious for an incredibly short growing season, we’ve discovered it really might be possible to eat local all year round, even in Minnesota. 

In summer, the farmer's markets of the Twin Cities are prime spots for locavores, offering an incredible array of succulent food grown or produced in Minnesota or nearby states. But most markets begin to disappear after that nip in the air starts up again, right? Some, but not all. In fact, many of our local markets convert to a “winter market” format for the colder months and continue to offer a great selection from local farmers.

The Minneapolis, Northeast and St. Paul Farmers’ Markets all hold winter markets most Saturdays starting in mid-November or December. Local D’lish also offers an indoor market at its store the third Saturday of every month through April. These markets are great places to find local meats, poultry, cheese, eggs and baked goods. And while fresh produce isn’t as varied as in the summer, you can still often find items like mushrooms, root vegetables and apples.

Not seeing your favorite local farmer at the winter markets? You can also go directly to vendors to see if they have any offerings over the winter. LocalHarvest.org is a useful site to find local farmers in your area and their months of operation. If your farmer is selling over the winter, you’ll be able to find out what products are available and where he or she makes deliveries to local co-ops.

If you’re looking for more long-term access to local food, you can also consider investing in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm, which offers the opportunity to buy seasonal food directly from your local farmer by investing in a share of the farm’s produce.

Several local farms offer winter shares of produce and, depending on the capabilities of the farms, you can receive a variety of vegetables, fresh or frozen, delivered to a site near you every few weeks. Each farm offers winter produce differently, so prices can be anymore from $200 to $600, depending on the amount of winter produce and frequency of delivery a farm offers.

For example, Farm of Plenty in Randall offers eight bi-weekly deliveries between December and March of greenhouse produce like lettuce, kale, carrots and radishes as well as storage crops like sweet potatoes, turnips and onions and frozen fruit and vegetables in its winter share boxes for $450 for winter 2012.

Winter shares are very popular, however, so while farms may still have availability, you might find yourself added to a waitlist for produce (never too soon to start thing about next summer, though). 

Last but certainly not least, your local co-op can be a great source of local food through the winter. Products like meat, cheese, grains and eggs are readily available at your co-op, and also offer dried, frozen or storage crops that were grown locally. There are five co-ops in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and they are staffed with knowledgeable employees who can offer advice on staying sustainable in your eating habits year-round.

Overall, winter doesn’t have to be a time to despair about your diet. You can continue to eat local and support your local farmer every month of the year.