Emory Summer Farmers Markets Embrace Seasonality

The Emory summer farmers markets have embraced seasonality by centering each market around a seasonal fruit. The upcoming Melon Mania Market on July 29th and the Heirloom Tomato Festival on August 26th will offer free samples of fruit, activities and recipe cards.

If free samples are not enough to bring you to the market, here are four more reasons to eat seasonally:

• Taste - Crops transported over long distances to places where they are out of season are picked early to avoid rotting. They do not ripen as effectively and are probably not as fresh as local, seasonal crops. You will be surprised at the succulence of the fresh melons at the July market or the vine ripened heirloom tomatoes at the August market.
  
• Nutrition - Picking produce early for long transport also can limit the amount of nutrients they contain. For maximum nutritional content, choose fruits and vegetables that were picked ripe, and with short transport times. Ask the vendors at the market when their produce was picked to be sure of its freshness.
  
• Supporting Local Business - Our local farms provide an abundance of delicious and fresh produce but they need our support. Checking out the local, seasonal produce offered by our vendors is a great way to support local business.
  
• Environmentally Friendly - The energy used to transport crops over long distances and refrigerate them on their journey means eating out of season can be costly to the environment. Seasonal crops usually require much less energy to get to your plate.

The two remaining summer markets will be Tuesday, July 29th and August 26th from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. at Cox Hall Bridge. Although summer markets are monthly, the weekly Tuesday markets will resume in September.

If you would like to receive the monthly farmers market newsletter or have any questions, please email farmersmarket@emory.edu.