The Joys of Eating Seasonally

When we did our subscriber survey last year we asked what your main reasons were for being part of a CSA. The choices were: to eat more vegetables, to support small sustainable organic farms, to get the freshest food possible, and to connect with where food is grown and support a local economy and community. There was also an “other” option which allowed you to write in your own reasons. All of the options got lots of votes (you could choose as many options as you wanted), but a lot of people also wrote in the other category: “to eat seasonally.”

With grocery stores carrying the same produce year round (with only a few exceptions) it’s hard to even know what might be in season at any given time. And how to define “in season?” If it’s being grown somewhere in the United States, is it in season? Even in California there are several distinct growing regions where the seasonality varies quite a bit. Being part of a CSA you get to experience eating seasonally on a very local scale. All of the produce in your boxes is produced at our farm or by a few other local farmers. It’s a Central Coast seasonality that you get to experience. (Fortunately we live in a climate that is very favorable for growing a lot of different crops!)

One thing that happens when we try to eat seasonally is that we find ourselves getting out of the rut of preparing the same vegetables every week. We try new things, and we even start to look forward to those times of year when something we got to try the year before might be coming in. Sometimes we get a little tired of a vegetable if it’s available during a long season, but then still find we look forward to it after some time off when its season comes again.

I remember how delighted I was when I first tried parsnips—where had they been all my life? They may not be as flashy as a ripe tomato, and I think I would get tired of eating parsnips all year long. But to me they are a sweet treat for the winter and spring, when the summer vegetables are still a long way off.

Spring can be the most challenging time of year to eat seasonally. If you think about it, historically spring was the leanest time of year, the time when people were the hungriest. The stored and overwintered vegetables were running thin, and the spring vegetables grew slowly in the often cool, rainy, and still short days. Fortunately, we don’t have to worry about going hungry by eating seasonally. But it’s a good time of year to take on the challenge of eating some vegetables you may not be as familiar with, and learning to love them and look forward to them each year.