Quote Originally Posted by Crankin View Post
I am blessed to live within 5 miles of several small and medium sized farms. From May-October, I ride my bike to whichever ones I want to visit and buy my fruits and veggies. However, I do admit that I now enjoy eating blueberries and strawberries all year round. I don't buy tropical fruits too often (agree that most mangoes are hard and awful compared to the ones I picked off the tree in Miami), but there are some things I buy, because well, they are part of my diet and they are healthy. I don't mind paying a bit of a higher price in the winter, because I always think that I am buying healthy food instead of junk. Please don't yell, guys, but I am not sure I can break my fruit habit!
Similar situation here--half the year it's no problem to get local fruits/veggies here in MA and I try to do so as much as possible, but the rest of the time I do buy non-local produce along with eating things frozen/canned from the summer and fall (my roommate and I have a garden, pear trees in the yard and sometimes go blueberry and strawberry picking). For those of us living in northern areas, it's hard to avoid (and there are some things that just don't grow here that I happen to enjoy once in a while, like pineapple, kiwi etc.). I think the key is to have a happy medium--buy local when possible but don't feel too bad about buying some non-local produce in the off season or as a treat. Of course, if you live in some parts of the country, it's less of an issue because there's always something in season.