Eating local food

In the Midwest, most fresh fruits and vegetables travel an average of 1,500 miles before they are sold by your grocer. You can reduce transportation impacts by purchasing local foods. You’ll also gain flavor, nutrition, and opportunities to know who grows your food. There are lots of options for finding and using local food. Here are just a few:

Minnesota Grown

People who grow, raise, or process Minnesota products can receive an annual license from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) to use the Minnesota Grown logo.

Look for the Minnesota Grown label at the grocery store. Use the annual Minnesota Grown Directory to find local food. You can get a hard-copy or search on online database of 735 farms, farmers' markets, CSA farms and garden centers.

Other local networks

In addition to the Minnesota Grown label, there are few other local labels in Minnesota to keep you eye on.

• Superior Grown is a trademarked name, logo, and directory used to create a unique identity for regional farmers and for businesses that support local agriculture. Superior Grown represents a 16-county region defined by various environmental, climatic, and philosophical factors surrounding the Lake Superior Basin.
• Food Alliance is a nonprofit organization that certifies farms, ranches, and food handlers for sustainable agricultural and facility management practices. A local affiliate certifies Midwest farms, so you also know it is a local product.
• Minnesota Farm-to-School is a resource that connects Minnesota schools with local farms with the objective of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, and supporting local small farmers.
• Many regions in Minnesota have a network of farms that supply households, buying clubs, or restaurants with local food. Look for your region in the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota’s list of links.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

CSA programs allow members to receive weekly boxes of food directly from a local farm during the growing season.

• Search the Land Stewardship Project’s CSA Farm Directory or the Minnesota Grown Directory for a farm that will deliver to your area.

Eat in season

Learn about what foods grow best in the Midwest and when they are in season. Start planning more meals around seasonal produce. Purchase seasonal produce in bulk at the farmer’s market and can, freeze, or dry it to eat all winter long. Get a handle on what’s in season using these easy guides:

• The Land Stewardship Project’s seasonal food guide (PDF)
• Minnesota Grown’s seasonal look at fresh produce (PDF)

Grow your own!

Growing food at home is a fun way to eat local. Start with herbs on your window sill, a potted tomato plant, and grow from there.

• University of Minnesota Extension's horticulture website. Here you will find research-based yard and garden information on a wide variety of topics, for everyone from the home gardener to the professional landscaper.
• Gardening in urban soil? When choosing a space to grow food, it is important to consider what the land was used for in the past. This isn't always easy to figure out.  Land with prior industrial, commercial or agricultural uses are types of potential contaminated spaces. Read more in fact sheet prepared by the MPCA along with the departments of Health and Agriculture —  Gardening in Urban Soil.