Kefir Kommunity

We love the summertime for lots of reasons: Pool parties, fireworks, the ice cream man…and farmer’s markets. It’s always fun to wake up on a Saturday morning and mosey over to the local jam, where farmers from near and (not-too) far congregate to sell their delicious goods. You can literally feel the love and attention paid to every strawberry, every beet, every dozen eggs.

But did you know there are lots of health benefits to shopping at the farmer’s market? Here’s a bunch:


1. The produce is picked at its peak of freshness. Worried you won’t b able to finish a big bag of apples or basket of tomatoes? You can freeze them -- freezing preserves all of the vitamins and nutrients while preventing waste.

2. Besides being incredibly fresh, the fruits and vegetables available are all in season, which means they’ll be at their best color, smell and texture. Have you ever smelled a tomato fresh of the vine? Heaven!

3. By buying local, you’re helping the environment because your food doesn’t have to be shipped on gas-guzzling airplanes and trucks. Before reaching your table, the average food item in American travels a whopping 1,300 miles

4. The person selling your food likely has lots of fantastic ideas for cooking that pork loin or rhubarb. Ask him or her for tips - they’ll be happy to share!

5. Just walking around a farmer’s market gives you a little dose of exercise, and the sunshine is critical for your daily Vitamin D needs.

6. Quite often, produce, dairy and meats sold at the farmer’s market are organic and pesticide- or hormone-free.

6. Towards the end of many farmer’s markets, you can bargain!

On Saturdays, you can find Lifeway kefir at the Morton Grove Farmers' Market between 7:30am and 12:30pm @ 8930 Waukegan Road in Morton Grove. www.mgfarmersmarket.com