Fresh, Local and at Its Flavourful Best

A couple of years ago, on a bucket-list trip to Italy, I realized how spoiled we are when it comes to food. On the coast of Italy you can expect a seafood-heavy menu. In the interior, closer to farms, it’s meat dishes. In other words, you get the freshest food that grows where you are and can’t expect everything to be available everywhere.

Here we take access to all foods, all the time, for granted. Like terrific seafood even though we’re far from an ocean. 

No one’s suggesting we stop shipments of avocados and bananas that don’t grow well here. But a new focus on buying Canadian narrows down to buying locally, from our neighbours and friends. We’re paying closer attention to labels and signs. Relying more on in-season produce is a part of that approach. 

Colleen Crunican of Crunican Orchards, known for growing a variety of apples and a store that stocks local products, shares some advantages of buying from area producers. 

“People forget about the environmental impact when our food has to travel on planes and boats and transport trucks,” Colleen says. “There are also economic advantages like keeping your money in your community. The fact that families can make a living by growing things on the land that they live on is really cool.”

As a kid, I’d practically wait with a spoon in one hand and a can of whipped cream in the other for strawberry season to begin. Now thanks to hydroponics and greenhouses, they’re a year-round fruit in Canada. 

However, many other types of locally grown produce are only available fresh for short windows of time. Kim Loupos, public health dietician with the Middlesex-London Health Unit, says fruits and vegetables are healthiest at harvest. 

“There are definitely benefits to fresh produce, to the local food system, the local economy,” Loupos says. “And, fresh-picked, it’s at the peak of taste and nutrition.”

Involving children in growing and picking food helps develop their palate and introduces them to new foods. 

“Being part of the growing process is one of the things that can encourage children in particular to try new fruits and vegetables,” says Loupos. “When they’re part of it, knowing where it’s come from, picking it, there’s a sense of accomplishment.”

Canada’s Food Guide recommends that vegetables make up half our plate. Loupos says it’s a goal to strive for but many factors from fussy eaters to tight food budgets come into play. 

“As long as you’re getting some in your day,” she says. 

Healthy eating has also proved critical for certified aesthetician Erica Giorgini. “After struggling with severe acne for 12 years and trying countless band-aid solutions like restrictive diets and prescriptions, I knew I had to take things into my own hands,” says Giorgini. “After extensive research, I discovered I needed to address the root cause of my skin condition if I wanted any real change.” Her personal success has led her to open Skin One Eighty, a clinic in London’s Wortley Village. “I strongly believe that a holistic approach including a healthy diet focusing on quality food, careful lifestyle choices, and dedicated skin care routines are the foundation of healthy, glowing skin,” says Giorgini. 

For those looking for direct connections with producers, Middlesex London Food Policy Council’s website offers a directory of local farms. If you can’t get to one in person, the London Good Food Box is a low-cost monthly box of locally sourced in-season produce available for pickup (gccrc.ca/goodfoodbox). This farm-to-table approach is far from new. It’s a return to eating the way our ancestors did just a couple of generations ago. 

A food revolution occurred in the 20th century when farmers began shipping to markets and stores. By mid-century, food processing plants exploded in numbers. Consumers demanded variety and faster meal preparation. These shifts in habits created go-betweens (resellers, corporations). Farm-to-table aims for a return to a direct relationship between the farm and the customer.

However, lots of middle people do contribute to a sustainable, ethical and fresh food system. You can find fresh-from-the-farm food items at grocery stores and butchers know where their meat comes from. Resellers at markets make shopping easier by bring items from many farms to one place. It’s a matter of paying attention to labels, asking questions, and prioritizing what’s important to you and your family. 

Look for our sidebar list of regional farmers’ markets. Many operate year-round but there’s no time better than the summer and early fall months to find the widest variety of local produce.

Beef doesn’t have a single growing season, of course. It’s produced year round. Canada also purchases meat from all over the world and distributors often must choose the lowest price. For many consumers, that’s all their budget can handle. But there are shoppers who want to know more. 

Brendon Van Osch of Van Osch Farms in Ailsa Craig is a third-generation cattle farmer. They strive for the most environmentally friendly, sustainable practices possible. 

“We work very closely with our veterinarian, animal nutritionist and an agronomist to make sure the soil is healthy and productive,” says Van Osch. 

Visiting a farm teaches kids the beef on their plate didn’t start out in a cellophane wrapper. Van Osch says they’re happy to give farm tours and answer questions. This year, they opened a premium beef farm store. 

Purchasing directly from the farm also ensures consistency, says John Baker, with Ontario Corn Fed Beef and Ontario Cattle Feeders Association. 

“That’s the benefit of a single operation like Van Osch”, says Baker. “They use the same type of cattle, handled the same, fed the same. They’re growing high quality, highly marbled, very low stress cattle that are going to always deliver great tasting beef.”

The Arnold family in Delaware cares for its chickens with similar reliability. Their business began with the family’s search for good, organic meat. Now Arnold Family Farms’ pasture-raised chickens are available at their weekly market and for pick-up, along with eggs, bone broth and other offerings. 

In southwestern Ontario, we’re fortunate the land supports more than two hundred crops. Fields of wheat, climate-tolerant white rice, and soybeans make beautiful vistas but they’re not very tasty right off the plant. 

However, there’s a bounty of dinner-ready options to be had along with opportunities to buy them directly from the people who raised them from seed to harvest. Summertime brings us apricots, blueberries and cherries as well as peaches, raspberries and plums. Local beets, zucchini, field tomatoes and garlic are also fresh and ready in summer.

We have the option to purchase fresh produce by the bushel and can, stew, freeze and pickle it. Savings can be had by buying in bulk but it’s about more than that. There’s satisfaction in preserving fresh food that gives your family a taste of summer in the dead of winter.

And we can’t forget sweet corn. Farmer Matt Roberts at Adelaide Farms in Arva says purchasing corn in-season makes a huge difference to its flavour.

“When it’s picked,” says Roberts, “its sugars start turning into starches. As it ages it begins to get less sweet. We pick daily to ensure that our corn is as sweet as possible.”

Adelaide Farms grows beets, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and more. Mark explains why they take a hands-on approach to harvesting all their produce including corn. 

“We pick by hand to ensure the kernels have properly filled out. Something like sweet corn can be harvested by a machine but doing that can result in cobs that are over or under mature, and we can greatly reduce this picking by hand.”

How lucky are we to coexist with such an embarrassment of riches when it comes to fresh food. A sweet, tart, crunchy, smooth, beautiful bounty of colorful produce is ready for picking. And It’s almost as close as our own backyard. •