What does eating by the seasons mean?
- Picking your meals based on what is growing that time of the year
- Certain foods thrive in certain seasons
- Pollination from bees can help the flavour profile of certain foods
What are the benefits of eating seasonally?
- Foods are more nutritionally dense
- Foods grown out of season often need extra support such as chemical ripening
- Studies have shown seasonality can affect the nutritional content of food
- It tastes better – pollination – which affects the flavour
- It is better for the environment
- It is more cost effective
Fall
Vegetables: artichoke, beets, beet greens, bell peppers, broccolini, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, carrots, cauliflower, celery root, chard, corn, eggplant, fennel, garlic, leeks, parsnips, potatoes, radishes, spinach, sweet potatoes, wild mushrooms
Fruits: apples, chestnuts, cranberries, limes, melon, pears, plums, pomegranate, raspberries, tomatoes
Nuts and seeds: almonds
Meat: duck, lamb, partridge, rabbit, venison
Seafood: Lobster, clams, mussels
Winter
Vegetables: broccoli, broccolini, Brussel sprouts, butternut squash, cauliflower, celery roots, collards, fennel, leeks, potatoes, pumpkin, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, sunchokes, turnips
Fruits: cranberries, grapefruit, kiwi fruit, oranges, persimmon, pomegranate, tamarillo, tangerines
Meat: duck, goose, partridge, quail, rabbit, venison
Shellfish: clams, crab, mussels, oysters, scallops
Spring
Vegetables: artichoke, asparagus, avocado, broccoli, corn, cucumber, fava beans, kale, peas, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, turnips, zucchini
Fruit: apricots, blood oranges, grapefruit, lemon, limes, kiwi fruit, pineapple, strawberries
Meat: duck, lamb
Shellfish: crab, crayfish, mackerel
Summer
Vegetables: artichoke, arugula, beets, beet greens, bell peppers, carrots, cauliflower, corn, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, kohlrabi, peas, radishes, rhubarb, sweet potatoes, zucchini
Fruits: apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, figs, lemons, limes, melon, mulberries, nectarines, passionfruit, peaches, plums, strawberries, tomatoes, Saskatoon berries, and sour cherries
Meat: duck, lamb
Shellfish: lobster
Where can you buy local produce in and around Calgary?
- Calgary Farmers Market:
- DJ’s Market: 4645 12 St SE, Calgary, AB T2G 5P2
- Just Ripe fresh market Crowfoot
- Fresh & Local Farm Outlet (Macleod Plaza)
- Saskatoon Berry Farm 510 77 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2H 1C3
- Crossroads Market 1235 26 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 1R7
- Calgary Co-op
- Sobeys and Safeway
- Bearspaw on Sunday Mornings at 10am
- Saturdays Spray Lakes rec centre in Cochrane
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