It’s handy having summer crops in winter (and vice versa), but we have to keep in mind what this entails: Sourcing food from another country means that your food has travelled across the world to get to your plate – having a much higher impact on our environment. Local food travels less distance than typical fresh or processed food from our grocery stores, and thus reduces our carbon footprint while generating fewer greenhouse gases. By eating local, seasonal foods you can help in reducing the environmental costs associated with your food.

When you buy locally produced food, the money you spend stays in your country and supports local, regional farmers, as well as your own communities – having an overall positive impact to the local economy. In our globalized world it becomes harder and harder for farmers to succeed without becoming a large-scale factory-like enterprise. Size becomes vital to stay competitive in the market, therefore, buying local supports local producers that don’t have the means or the inclinations to become ‘mega farms’. It’s often those small farmers that rely on natural, organic methods that function in balance with the surrounding ecosystem, not in spite of it.

Including local, seasonal food in your diet reduces waste higher in the food chain as well as helping you get the tastiest, healthiest food into your diet. Imported food is more likely to require a lot of plastic packaging and wrap to keep fresh and secure on its transit, which impacts the increase of (plastic) waste worldwide. You can easily bring your own bag, containers and packaging when buying your weekly necessities at the local farmer's market.

Thinking about environmentally friendly agriculture, it is important to keep in mind that many fruits and vegetables that are grown out of season are more likely in need of much higher quantities of artificial pesticides and fertilizers. Growers may also need to use electrically heated greenhouses to force crops that wouldn’t otherwise grow in a certain season – which can have a harmful impact on the environment.

The supply chain that stretches from the non-local grower to your door creates half of all food waste. With half of all food waste occurring along the supply chain, buying locally and in season is a way of reducing the risk of food becoming waste before it’s actually reaching our shelves and means that less food is wasted in distribution, merchandising and warehousing.

The global food system gives us great choices and convenience when it comes to our food. However, increasing the distance between where food is grown and processed makes it harder to get information about how it has been produced. The easiest way to know your food is to know where it comes from. Although local food can be more expensive, buying in season means you’re getting it at peak supply when it’s at its cheapest.

With seasonal, local food being most likely ripened on the farms before being harvested and delivered, the nutritional value is at its peak. Moreover, eating in season offers advantageous vitamins that your body is looking for to boost our immune system. Take brussels sprouts for example: these little cabbages are higher in Vitamin C than a glass of orange juice, while being in their peak exactly when the cold and flu activity hits hardest.