Centennial Senior Center

10:00-11:00 am Wednesday May 4th

Spring into Local, Seasonal Eating
Spring has finally arrived and fresh fruits and vegetables are starting to
appear! Come learn why eating local, seasonal produce is better - for your
health, for your community, and for the environment.
INTRODUCTION
(Carol Anne)
Introduce ourselves
- Remember to say: If you cant hear let us know, if you cant see move closer
(although cramped in here)
Overview of program
Objectives
1. Participants will recall three benefits of eating locally/seasonally
2. Participants will choose one new way to incorporate local produce as part of
their routine
Icebreaker
(Katie)
Have participants unravel long rope. On one end is a picture of a
strawberry. Every couple feet will have a tag describing a type of damage
that could potentially affect the strawberry - temperature/humidity, bruising,
contamination with foodborne illness, nutrient loss, etc. - and person holding
rope near that tag will read aloud. Then we will snip a 1 foot section off the
other end of the rope to represent distance from local farms, and explain that
in that short of a distance, strawberry is much less likely to encounter
damage/nutrient loss.

BASICS (Carol Anne)

What is considered local?
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, Current estimates indicate
that, on average, produce travels over 1,500 miles from farm to table.
100 mile radius is generally used as a measurement
When it comes to this, local is not always equivalent to sustainable (THINK:
large scale farm close to a community marketing itself as local)
Throughout this presentation we are talking about food that is produced on a
smaller scale by local farmers.
Local/regional food systems: associated with sustainable agriculture, while
global industrial food system is associated with industrial agriculture.
Locavore (sometimes called a localvore):
a person interested in eating food that is locally produced, not moved long
distances to market

 Local is always seasonal, but seasonal not always local

Example: Mango - in season in the spring, but mangoes are not local to New
Hampshire.
Options to buy local: farmers market, food co-op, CSA
Farmers Market
Communal space in which multiple farmers gather to sell their farm products
directly to consumers
Concord Farmers Market opens this weekend! Saturday, May 7th at 8:30 am
on Capitol Street
Or locate the farmers market closest to you
CSA
Community Supported Agriculture - buy a share of a local farms projected
harvest
Search a national database of CSAs at Local Harvest.
Other:
Pick-your-own
Farm stands
Co-op - Often sell fresh, local produce
Large chain grocery stores may source locally
Choose restaurants that source locally instead of chains

HEALTH (Katie)
LOCAL
Fresh
Higher nutrient content
Local is allowed to ripen longer (sometimes almost fully) before being picked
because it doesn't have to travel far
A lot of conventional produce is picked long before peak ripeness and &
ripens on the truck as it rides across the country. (mature but not ripe).
This is so it is sturdier to withstand processing and travel. Gives it less time
to develop that full spectrum of V&M.
Clock starts ticking once picked. Exposure to TEMP, light, humidity, oxygen
vs carbon dioxide affects as well
Items that lose the most? broccoli, green beans, kale, red peppers,
tomatoes, apricots and peaches
Water-soluble Vits most susceptible: C, Bs (thiamin-B1, folic acid-B9, and B6)
SEASONAL benefit: peak nutrient content
Local produce soil may be richer in micronutrients than large commercial
growing fields
Better taste and look
SEASONAL benefit: better taste, appearance
More variety

 Conventional produce varieties are chosen for highest yield per acre, fast
growth, ability to withstand chemical pesticides, and ability to withstand long
distance transport. Grocery stores also mandate uniformity of product.
Local farmers produce non-traditional varieties that will provide different
nutritional profiles.
Greater crop diversity from the farmer means greater nutritional diversity
for the eater. (Harvard)
SEASONAL benefit: forces you to get variety in your diet eating only whats
available throughout the year
Food safety
Less distance between you & your food less chances for contamination
during harvest, washing, shipping & distribution
However, not all farmers are careful - one reason to know your farmer, know
your food
Know farmers practices
Relationship = transparency. Big Ag is detached from consumer, farmer
hands you produce he grew, wants to give you quality product you can trust
Or maybe organic but cant afford to get certification

ACTIVITY BREAK (Carol Anne)

(to get the blood pumping/keep awake)
Read phrases and instruct participants to stand at their seat when they hear
something called that they do with local produce. Sit down in between each.
If too difficult, modification = stay seated but raise both hands above head.
Salad
Fruit Salad
Grill it
Smoothie
Baked goods - muffins, strawberry shortcake
Can it
Freeze it for winter
Jam it
Infuse water
Compost it
COMMUNITY (Carol Anne)
Supports small businesses/local economy
A chain reaction: when you buy from a local farm, rather than buying
produce that is owned by large companies (THINK: dole, chiquita, del monte),
more of your money goes back into your local economy - including purchases
at other local businesses, service providers, etc.
Who are you supporting?
Local farmers

Restaurants that source locally

Co-ops
Builds sense of community
Getting to know where your food is growing and who is growing it - Food from
those you trust.
Gives you insight into the land, the season and your food - closer connection
with the food we eat.
Opportunity to build relationships with those in the community (friends,
family, neighbors) by shopping at farmers markets, farm stands
Going berry picking, apple picking, etc.
Educational farms: teach us & future generations about our food.
ENVIRONMENT (Carol Anne)
Less travel = less fuel emissions
Think back to earlier statistic: Food traveling an average of 1500 miles from
farm to table
NOTED: food trucked by semi is not as environmentally efficient as food
trucked by freight trains (but need to take into account the processing! Much
more processing with large scale produce)
Local farmers usually better stewardship of land
Tilling the land: Large scale intensive tillage, small scale utilize
conservation tillage techniques (no-till, mulch-till, ridge-till)
Intensive tillage: eliminates protective ground cover from soil surface,
destroys root systems that help hold soil together.
Less soil erosion (soil erosion can lead to fertile farmland becoming
unsuitable for agriculture)
Requires less labor, equipment, fossil fuel (helps reduce GHG by >1 billion
pounds each year!)
Buying local preserve a working landscape. Less likely to sell land for
development (has a bonus of supporting local economy by attracting
tourists!)
An ecosystem: conserve fertile soil, protect water sources. Patchwork of
fields, meadows, woods, ponds provide habitat for wildlife
Preserving genetic diversity:
Large farms: plant varieties chosen for their ability to ripen uniformly,
withstand harvesting, survive packing and last a long time on the shelf limited genetic diversity in large-scale production.
Smaller local farms: Rotate crops, grow many different varieties of crops
when in season
Diversity in the fields: decrease vulnerability to pests, extreme weather, and
disease
For the future:
Local farms help with providing food security in a sustainable way.

 Less packaging
Decrease energy used in processing/production facilities
Less trash!
FOOD SAMPLING (Katie explain) (Carol Anne serve)
Dijon New Potato Salad
Chose because: seasonal, easily kept cold, easy to chew, no vitamin K
http://www.marthastewart.com/341276/dijon-potato-salad

SPECIAL FOR SENIORS (Katie)

Programs that offer $ assistance
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services > Commodity
Supplemental Foods Program (CSFP) > Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition
Program (SFMNP)
Eligible: 60+, income guidelines (130% of poverty level)
Receive fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables from NH farmers during July
and August.
Bags or boxes of fresh produce are distributed at clinic CSFP locations
CSFP agencies provide recipes, cookbooks, and nutrition info, info on how to
prepare the foods, information for special dietary needs
Call the State CSFP at (800) 942-4321 for more information or to find the
agency closest to where you live.
Physical Activity
Strolling around the farmers market, picking your own fruit
Quality Time with family (or friends) while eating locally
Farmers market day trip - hot food vendors, music, art
Pick Your Own farm or orchard
Teach kids, grandkids how to can or jam produce
EVALUATION- WHEEL OF FORTUNE
Split room into teams
Pat = Carol Anne (facilitating with audience members)
Vanna = Katie (at computer, deleting boxes as needed)
Have category & phrase on slide - choose 4 letters out of RSTLNE to
allow and have those letters visible in the phrase. All other letters are
hidden.
Team chooses one consonant and one vowel and tries to solve phrase.
If they are unable to solve, play goes to the next team.
Category

Phrase

Point
Value

Team Who
Won

Health Benefit

Higher nutrient content

200

Community Benefit

Supports small
businesses

400

Environmental Benefit

Lower risk of foodborne

illness

300

Benefit of Seasonal

Better taste

100

How to include more

local

Shop at the farmers

market

100

How to include more

local

Freeze it for winter

300

How to include more

local

Make infused water

400

CONCLUSION
Pass out brochure handouts (Carol Anne)
Call to Action Challenge (Katie)
Shop at a farmers market at least once a month
Time for final questions
Thank You
__________________________________________________________________
Questions we might receive:
What about organic?
Raw milk
GMO .

NEED TO BRING:
Laptop w prez saved in PPT just in case
Rope
Scissors to cut rope
Potato salad in cooler
Hand sanitizer
Gloves

Plates
Napkins
Forks
Prez Eval

Misc. background info

F&V grown in North America may spend up to 5 days in transit following
harvest before arriving at a distribution center.
F&V grown in the southern hemisphere for the U.S. ranges from a few days if
transported by air to several weeks if sent by refrigerated ship. then 1-3 days
on display at store, up to 7 days in your frige at home...
Most fruits and vegetables are composed of 7090% water and once
separated from their source of nutrients (tree, plant, or vine) undergo higher
rates of respiration, resulting in moisture loss, quality and nutrient
degradation
vitamin C, B vitamins = water soluble. if water loss occurs due to improper
humidity during storage - think shriveling - these nutrients deteriorate.
temperature and relative humidity must be carefully controlled to maintain
low rates of respiration, prevent moisture loss.
Vitamin C degrades rapidly after harvest, and this degradation continues
during storage.
Vitamin C losses in vegetables stored at 4C (under 40 F) for 7 days range
from 15% for green peas to 77% for green beans.
The B vitamins, thiamin and vitamin B-6 in particular, are quite sensitive to
heat and light

--Review
AA loss is generally greater in vegetables than fruits bc fruits tend to be a
more ACIDic environment
Leafy green lost 6% of AA in 6 days at 20 C
compared to losing 20% in 2 days at room temp {kale, spinach, cabbage,
green beans)
--- 1970s study
Fruit can be divided into two groups:
(1) those that are incapable of continuing their ripening process once
removed from the plant
Ex. cherry, citrus fruits, grape, pineapple, pomegranate, strawberry
produce very small quantities of ethylene and do not respond to
ethylene treatment except in terms of degreening (removal of chlorophyll);
these should be picked when fully-ripe, if good flavor quality is to be ensured.
(2) those that can be harvested at the mature stage and allowed to ripen off
the plant.
Ex. apple, apricot, avocado, banana, guava, kiwifruit, mango, nectarine,
papaya, passion fruit, pear, peach, persimmon, plum
produce comparably larger quantities of ethylene which is associated
with their ripening, and undergo more rapid and uniform ripening upon
exposure to ethylene.
The rate of deterioration of perishables however increases two to three-fold
with every 10 C increase in temperature.
---FAO
__________________________________________________________________
SOURCES
Katie
Spring boards:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/health-benefits-of-eating-local/
https://www.mcgill.ca/foodservices/sustainability/green/local
http://www.chgeharvard.org/topic/local-and-urban-agriculture
http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/buylocal.html
http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/food-system-tools/

Great online tool: http://www.sustainabletable.org/254/local-regional-foodsystems

http://www.sustainabletable.org/seasonalfoodguide/
Michael Pollan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhaG_Zi6izU
http://michaelpollan.com/resources/sustainable-eating-nutrition/
Research studies:
http://www.chgeharvard.org/sites/default/files/resources/local_nutrition.pdf
http://www.fruitandvegetable.ucdavis.edu/files/197179.pdf
http://ucanr.edu/datastoreFiles/234-453.pdf
http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/datastore/234-622.pdf
http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/y5431e/y5431e00.htm#Contents
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4006172/
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1998.tb15848.x/pdf
CA
http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/09/04/how-green-is-local-food/
http://www.sustainabletable.org/207/soil-quality
http://www.sustainabletable.org/254/local-regional-food-systems
https://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/buylocal.html
http://www.eatright.org/resource/health/lifestyle/culture-andtraditions/sustainableeating

Strawberry is picked in Los Reyes, Mexico by a

worker in a very large, hot field, and hours pass
before it is refrigerated
Strawberry is shipped from Mexico to New
Hampshire
Strawberry carton is mishandled by a
supermarket employee, bruising some of the
berries
Strawberry is not held at the correct
temperature and humidity on the supermarket
shelf
Strawberry is contaminated with Norovirus by
worker who was ill and failed to practice proper
hygiene

Strawberry has lost 30% of the vitamin C

content during the 5-day journey