Sustainability Snapshot | Summer Quarterly 2021
Sustainable Summer Challenge Week 1: Storing A Favorite Seasonal Food
Our Sustainable Summer Challenge is back! For five weeks, we will share an easy way you can reduce waste and promote sustainability in your everyday life. We encourage everyone to participate by trying out the week's challenge and sharing your photos/experiences on social media for chances to win an awesome prize package of a fully-stamped Co-op sandwich card (free sandwich from our Deli), beverage card (free drink from our Beverage Bar) and alternative transportation card ($5 off your next purchase), as well as a Co-op Compost service card.
Week One Challenge: Storing in Season Foods
In our modern society we sometimes forget that certain foods only grow during specific seasons. While foods may be available to us year-round, they are not locally grown year-round. Eating local means less waste, less energy consumption, fresher and more nutrient dense foods, supports local farmers and boosts our local food economy. Learning how to preserve and store our local seasonal abundance helps us eat more local food year-round, increasing all the benefits of eating locally.
What does it mean to store seasonally? It means storing fresh food (freezing, canning, pickling, dehydrating, drying etc.). Storing seasonally is the perfect way to utilize what is locally available. Because this food is harvested within its main growing season, you get the perks of it being more affordable and at its peak flavor profile!
Freezing can be one of the simpler methods to store local food. Many might be familiar with freezing berries, fruits and vegetables but did you know you can also freeze eggs?!
Here are a couple of my favorite simple freezing tips:
To freeze local berries:
Lay berries on something flat (cookie sheet, plate or tray) and place in your freezer for 1-2 hours. Then remove the entire tray and pop your perfectly frozen berries into jars, reusable freezer bags or other freezer-ready containers. By freezing flat before placing your berries into their containers you are ensuring they will not clump together, making it easier to use your frozen berries later in the year. If the price is right, I suggest stocking up so you can have a freezer full of summer with the best tasting local berries to later perk up the dark days of winter.
To freeze fresh local eggs:
If you raise chickens, then you’ll know at some point in the year, when the sun and hens are in perfect unison, you have more eggs than you need or sometimes even want! If you don’t raise hens, you can still follow along to try to your hand at storing eggs. Begin with a few dozen local eggs and a muffin tin. Oil your muffin tin and crack an egg into each hole. Place in your freezer for 4-5 hours. Once frozen, use a spoon to pop out each egg and place them into jars, reusable freezer bags or other freezer-ready containers. When our local egg supply starts dropping, you’ll be happy knowing you have a freezer full of local eggs to rely on! (defrost in a bowl on the counter directly prior to use).
Of course, these are only two examples of the many, many foods you can freeze. Keep in mind that different foods require different preparation to freeze. For instance, some vegetables, like beans and broccoli, need to be slightly cooked prior to freezing. A quick search on the internet will give you plenty of instructions for how to freeze all kinds of foods.
Week 1 Challenge: Try Storing A Favorite Seasonal Food (Freezing, Drying, Canning, Pickling etc.)
You choose the food and method to store a local food. I encourage you to try something new!
After completing the challenge, share a photo or a post about your experience on Facebook or Instagram. Tag us in your posts to be entered into a raffle for a prize package! You can also email us a photo at co-opnews@northcoast.coop for entry, and we will feature them on our social media pages! A weekly winner will be selected every Monday, so enter your submission by Sunday.
