 | Local food tastes great. You can taste the difference in locally grown and harvested produce. When it comes to lobster and scallops, we know that the cold water of the Bay of Fundy produces excellent shellfish. Likewise, New Brunswick’s maple syrup, fiddleheads and blueberries are recognized for their high quality. All of these delicious foods are grown and harvested in Albert County. |
Local farmers choose fruit and vegetables noted for their delicious flavour, not for their ability to withstand long transportation. When fruits and vegetables are shipped, farmers pick them under ripe, while local market produce can ripen on the plant. You can taste the difference in sun-ripened produce, especially berries and tomatoes.
Local food is fresh.
Much of the food at supermarkets comes from other provinces or countries, and may have been in transit for days. Even local food sold at the supermarket is rarely as fresh as food sold at a farm stand, U-pick, farmers’ market or local lobster shop.
Wouldn’t you rather choose fresh, rather than food that has spent days or weeks in shipping or storage?
Local food is often a healthy choice.
Simple meals featuring the intense flavour of local fruits and vegetables are much healthier than processed foods containing high levels of sodium, fat and/or sugar, and don’t require the unhealthy additives to improve the taste.
Eating local is better for the environment.
Shipping food over long distances burns fossil fuels and contributes to global climate change. Also, food is often damaged during transportation and this contributes to food waste.
Eating and buying local food can be a social event.
Buying food from your neighbours gives you an opportunity to connect with your community and build stronger relationships. Farmers’ markets and community suppers become social outings where you spend time with friends, neighbours and other community members.
Seasonal eating keeps us in touch with nature.
When you eat local food, you adjust your diet according to the seasons:
Local eating is traditional.
A hundred years ago, almost all the food eaten in Albert County was locally grown. We now grow more types of vegetables, but we still use our traditional recipes to cook foods in season, such as hodgepodge in early summer and root vegetable stew in the winter.
By buying local food, you support your local economy.
When you buy local food, you get to know and support the people who grow, make or catch your food. You also contribute to the whole economy of the region. For example, when you buy food at the farmers’ market, the farmer might then spend money at the local hardware store. The store owner hires local employees and perhaps purchases more locally produced goods.
Keeping money in Albert County allows more people to make a living here. The result? More people might choose to live in our beautiful corner of the world. A larger population helps create a more vibrant community and strengthens our ability to keep schools, post offices, health clinics, libraries and other services.
Submitted by Janet Wallace and first printed in Fresh from Fundy: Celebrating the Foods of Albert County.
For more information on local food production, see Foods of the Fundy Valley.
Local food is fresh.
Much of the food at supermarkets comes from other provinces or countries, and may have been in transit for days. Even local food sold at the supermarket is rarely as fresh as food sold at a farm stand, U-pick, farmers’ market or local lobster shop.
Wouldn’t you rather choose fresh, rather than food that has spent days or weeks in shipping or storage?
Local food is often a healthy choice.
Simple meals featuring the intense flavour of local fruits and vegetables are much healthier than processed foods containing high levels of sodium, fat and/or sugar, and don’t require the unhealthy additives to improve the taste.
Eating local is better for the environment.
Shipping food over long distances burns fossil fuels and contributes to global climate change. Also, food is often damaged during transportation and this contributes to food waste.
Eating and buying local food can be a social event.
Buying food from your neighbours gives you an opportunity to connect with your community and build stronger relationships. Farmers’ markets and community suppers become social outings where you spend time with friends, neighbours and other community members.
Seasonal eating keeps us in touch with nature.
When you eat local food, you adjust your diet according to the seasons:
- Spring means fiddleheads, maple syrup, strawberries and salads
- Mid-Summer brings goosetongue and samphire greens, raspberries, blueberries, beans, peas and carrots
- Late summer brings us bushels of tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, zucchini and winter squash
Local eating is traditional.
A hundred years ago, almost all the food eaten in Albert County was locally grown. We now grow more types of vegetables, but we still use our traditional recipes to cook foods in season, such as hodgepodge in early summer and root vegetable stew in the winter.
By buying local food, you support your local economy.
When you buy local food, you get to know and support the people who grow, make or catch your food. You also contribute to the whole economy of the region. For example, when you buy food at the farmers’ market, the farmer might then spend money at the local hardware store. The store owner hires local employees and perhaps purchases more locally produced goods.
Keeping money in Albert County allows more people to make a living here. The result? More people might choose to live in our beautiful corner of the world. A larger population helps create a more vibrant community and strengthens our ability to keep schools, post offices, health clinics, libraries and other services.
Submitted by Janet Wallace and first printed in Fresh from Fundy: Celebrating the Foods of Albert County.
For more information on local food production, see Foods of the Fundy Valley.
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