Benefits to eat local all year long and tips to be able to do so

Eating local, it's more and more popular and it's also an excellent idea! With the winters we have in Quebec, we could tend to think that it's harder to eat local in Quebec, but it's the opposite! Here few benefits and our tips to eat local foods all year long!

Benefits to eat local in Quebec

Eating more fresh local foods

Local foods have the benefits to be picked up way more ripe than imported ones. The more foods are fresh and picked up at maturity, the more it'll contains a maximum of essentials nutrients. Just think about our Quebec's delicious sweety and juicy strawberries 🍓 It's so much better than ones from anywhere else in this world when in the middle of February😉

Reduce your ecological footprint

By eating local foods, we also reduce our ecological footprint on the planet. Imports and transportation of foods emits lots of greenhouse gas (GES). By reducing distances traveled by our foods, we also reduces negative impacts of GES on the environment.

Supporting local economy

When you eat what's harvested and produced in Quebec, we support Quebec's producers and allow them to improve their productions and facilities to enjoy local products for a longer period of time. 

Being closer to local producers

Admit that your fruits and vegetables are even more delicious when you know who produced it. By buying local products at the grocery store or on farm, you learn to know them and you know exactly where the products you're buying are from. Here, we harvest asparagus, leeks and berries. It's also always a great pleasure to see you picking up your own berries here on site!

Tips to eat local all year long

Know fruits and vegetables seasons and arrivals

Take a look at the calender for seasonal and arrivals products at Mangez Québec or at Équiterre. It'll allows you to know all fresh fruits and vegetables that you can buy depending on the time of the year and to adapt your menu based over those availabilities. It's an excellent way to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables while supporting the movement J'aime les fruits et légumes 😊

Enjoying picking up your own fruits and vegetables of the season

In addition to meeting up with your local producers, picking up your own fruits and vegetables is also a great way to eat local all year long in Quebec. It'll allows to make supplies for all winter long and save a lot compare to prices you can find in grocery store!

Visit public markets

Visit public markets to find out and meet local producers. In a market, beautiful fruits and vegetables awaits you! Don't hesitate to talk with producers, they'll for sure give out the best tips to prepare their products. Take a look at the Association des Marchés publics du Québec (AMPQ) to find a public market near you..

Verify where your food is from

Take a look at where food is from in grocery store and find the Aliments Québec logo or the Aliments préparés au Québec. They're good indicators to indentify local products. In addition, producers are proud of their fruits and vegetables and won't hesitate to identify each of their products by mentioning it's from Quebec, just like we do for our apsragus and leeks, among all other thing 😉

Also, with production techniques and today's greenhouses, you benefits a larger variety of local fruits and vegetables all year long.

Make your own garden at home

There's nothing more local than vegetable that grows right in your backyard! A tomatoes sandwich freshly picked up from your garden is so much better! If you don't have green thumbs, chive grows really easily without much care and always add lots of taste to your plates. In winter, grow herbs inside your home by setting it in a pot under a window to let it be exposed to sunlight to a maximum. 

Blanch and freeze your fruits and vegetables

Blanch and freeze your vegetables allows to have great products. It's perfect for tomato sauce, potages, berries, roasted vegetables and more. You'll also avoid losses if your own little garden was productive.

Subscribe to baskets of fruits and vegetables

More producers offers baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables. Cost of a basket varies depending of the products and quantities, but you'll stay assured to receive a basket filled with local products delivered near you! Les Fermes Lufa and the Fermiers de la famille Équiterre are great options, but you also just need to do a quick research on Internet to find a producer near your home which could offer this kind of basket.

We talk a lot about local fruits and vegetables, but, in Quebec, we also enjoy lots of other local products which are also simply fabulous : cheeses, beers, ciders, wines or liquors, to name just a few. Discover rich flavours of Quebec and to cook all these, we of course have recipes you should try out😊