Eat Seasonal

Eating with the seasons encourages variety and helps you break out of food ruts. In addition to eating a variety of foods, eating seasonally means food tastes better, is more nutritious, saves money, supports local farmers, and is better for the planet.

Produce picked at its peak is naturally sweeter, juicier, and more flavorful.
Seasonal foods spend less time in storage or transit, so they keep more vitamins and minerals.
When foods are in season, they’re more abundant — which usually means lower prices.
Buying seasonal often means buying local, which strengthens your community’s food system.
Seasonal foods typically require fewer resources for transport, refrigeration, and storage, reducing your environmental footprint.

For practical ways to start eating seasonally shop at your local farmers market, check seasonal produce guides, pay attention to the pricing, join a local CSA, cook food that is in season, experiment with new recipes, and preserve fruits and veggies at their peak flavor.

Here are simple, practical ways to eat seasonally:

Farmers markets are great places to take the guess work out of eating seasonally because they sell fruits and veggies that have just come to harvest from the field or hoophouse.
Check seasonal Pick up a produce guides to keep on hand so you know what is coming in season. Download one here or keep an eye at your farmers market or grocery store as they often share monthly charts or post them on their social media pages.
When the prices for fruits and veggies suddenly drop, it is likely because they are in season.
Community Supported Agriculture Farmsare called CSAs for short. They are local farms that provide their members with a weekly box of whatever they are harvesting at that moment. So, you’ll get the freshest food from farm to table while supporting small farmers in your area. Most CSAs offer memberships in the late winter/early spring. Rates vary from farm to farm. The idea is you help the farmer by prepaying for the food, which helps them know how much to plant for the season for their customers. Then, you just wait for the harvest to receive your weekly farm boxes during harvest season, usually from June through October. If you use SNAP, Michigan Farm to Family: CSA offers a program where you sign up and there is no advanced payment required.
Cook with food that is in season, it saves money and the food tastes great. Seasonal eating brings new ingredients throughout the year — which makes it easy to get curious and try a new veggie or recipe each month.
Preserve seasonal favorites for off season eating. For example, freeze berries, corn and green beans in summer, roast and freeze squash in fall, and make sauces and soups to enjoy over the winter.

Check out the Seasonal Eating Guides from Michigan Farmers Market Association. They are built around Michigan’s four distinct seasons and strong agricultural traditions. It’s great for planning meals, shopping smarter, and getting the freshest flavors all year.