local foods in the dead of winter

I guess if I was to buy and cook the very healthiest food for my family it would include a wide variety of fresh fruits and veggies year round. And I could do that. We've got grocery stores filled with all sorts of things at any time of the year. But I've come to believe that eating locally and seasonally is a better option for a bunch of reasons. It may not be the "best" diet (no leafy green salads to be had here in the winter!) but I think we can survive.

Here in upstate NY in January we still have lots in the freezer and pantry. It's not fresh, but we make do. I've got: peas, green beans, leeks, spinach, corn, kale, swiss chard, summer squash, pesto, broccoli (but not much left), cauliflower, peaches, rhubarb, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries left in the freezer. We've got pickled beets, dilly beans, cucumber pickles, jams and chutney in the pantry. We still have winter squash, potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots and apples in storage (root cellar and an unheated bedroom). And we can still buy local turnips, celery root, rutabaga, parsnips and cabbage at the co-op. I've got sprouts growing on the kitchen counter and some fresh herbs in pots on the window sill.

We can grow greens in the cold frame until December and local farms do an even better job with a wide variety still available at the co-op. We are not very good at getting early greens going in the spring, but can find a few green crunchy things to buy by the end of April. We make do.