Bananas are the most popular fruit in the United States - most Americans consume around 27 lbs of them each year. But bananas are not commercially grown in the US, meaning all of them that you buy at the grocery store each year are imported from South America.
Same goes for avocados, mangoes, kiwis, pineapples, and coconuts. All delicious and popular, but majority are imported from other countries. They definitely don't grow in Iowa!
In fact, stroll through any midwestern grocery store produce section in the winter and you will rarely find any fruit or vegetable that was grown locally. Almost all of the foods we buy must be shipped from thousands of miles away, which often means produce is harvested before peak ripeness to survive shipping and storage. That early harvest can reduce flavor and nutritional quality, and requires quite a bit of packaging, refrigeration, and fuel to get to our stores.
Why should we reduce our consumption of imported foods?
Local food systems offer so many benefits to our community and environment. Food grown close to where it is eaten uses less packaging, shorter periods of refrigeration, and far less fuel inputs than imported food.
Locally grown produce is picked at peak ripeness for superior flavor and nutritional content. It quite literally looks and tastes better!
Buying food produced by local farmers keeps your dollars circulating in your community. A majority of each dollar actually goes to the farmer and their employees. When you shop at large grocery chains for imported foods, those dollars are sent off to corporations based nowhere near you, and it is unlikely that farmers and workers will end up with very much of your dollar spent back in their pocket.
A Month by Month Guide to What's In Season in Iowa
JANUARY & FEBRUARY
Not much is being harvested from the fields right now, but meat, dairy, and stored and indoor grown produce are abundant.
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Winter Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Apples
Carrots
Beets
Microgreens
Eggs
Pork
Beef
Lamb
Chicken
Honey
Maple Syrup
Milk, cheese, and other dairy products
MARCH
Many things that were available in January and February are still around, but now cold-tolerant greenhouse grown veggies start appearing.
Spinach
Lettuce
Arugula
Tatsoi
Bok Choi
Green Onions
Radishes
Microgreens
Honey & Maple Syrup
Eggs
Meat
Dairy
APRIL
The first real harvests of the season begin!
Asparagus
Spinach
Lettuce
Radishes
Green Onions
Arugula
Microgreens
Tatsoi
Bok Choi
Eggs
Meat
Dairy
Honey & Maple Syrup
MAY
Spring is in full swing and most summer veggies are being transplanted outdoors.
Asparagus
Kale
Swiss Chard
Spinach
Lettuce
Radishes
Green Onions
Arugula
Microgreens
Tatsoi
Bok Choi
Rhubarb
Snap Peas
Cabbage
Broccoli
Eggs
Meat
Dairy
Honey & Maple Syrup
JUNE
Berry season begins and early summer produce is ready.
Strawberries
Snap Peas
Green Onions
Herbs
Lettuce
Microgreens
Kale
Swiss Chard
Carrots
Beets
Cabbage
Broccoli
Cucumbers
Summer Squash & Zucchini
Eggs
Meat
Dairy
Honey & Maple Syrup
JULY
Peak summer produce!
Tomatoes
Sweet Corn
Cucumbers
Carrots
Beets
Onions
Summer Squash & Zucchini
Green Beans
Peppers
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Melons
Cucumbers
Herbs
Eggs
Meat
Dairy
Honey & Maple Syrup
AUGUST
Tomatoes
Sweet Corn
Cucumbers
Summer Squash & Zucchini
Green Beans
Peppers
Carrots
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Melons
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Peaches
Apples
Herbs
Eggs
Meat
Dairy
Honey & Maple Syrup
SEPTEMBER
Apples
Pears
Grapes
Pumpkins
Winter Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Carrots
Beets
Onions
Tomatoes
Peppers
Green Beans
Cabbage
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Herbs
Eggs
Meat
Dairy
Honey & Maple Syrup
OCTOBER
Classic fall staples.
Apples
Pumpkins
Winter Squash
Potatoes
Carrots
Beets
Onions
Tomatoes
Peppers
Green Beans
Cabbage
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Herbs
Eggs
Meat
Dairy
Honey & Maple Syrup
NOVEMBER
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Winter Squash
Carrots
Beets
Cabbage
Apples
Herbs
Eggs
Meat
Dairy
Honey & Maple Syrup
DECEMBER
Back to storage crops and year-round animal products.
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Beets
Carrots
Onions
Apples
Winter Squash
Microgreens
Eggs
Meat
Dairy
Honey & Maple Syrup
Other things to look out year round for are baked goods, jams and jellies, canned condiments and sauces, dried and freeze dried herbs, fruits, and veggies, tea blends, and seasoning mixes!
No doubt, local, seasonal eating requires a shift in how you shop and plan for meals. You won't have everything available year round, or ever, if you choose to avoid imported foods.
But that scarcity is part of what makes it exciting! Knowing you can only get certain things for part of the year makes us appreciate them all the more. Instead of fresh cucumbers in January, we still have crisp pickles. Even though we can only get fresh local strawberries for about a month in early summer, we can have jam the rest of the year.
Even if you don't fully cut off the grocery store, it still helps your local farmer to buy products locally when they are in season. You'll be rewarded with the best flavors, I promise!