By Karen Gaudette

Softening your footprint on the planet is as easy as eating fresh, delicious, locally grown produce – truly.

When you add organic produce grown by Northwest farmers to your shopping cart or reusable bag, you help sustain the local economy and reduce the amount of fuel needed to get those fruits and vegetables to market.

A shorter travel time means fewer nutrients lost between the farm fields and your dinner table, and a fresh-picked flavor that’s hard to beat.

• Look for produce from local, organic farmers

Whether at the farmers market or your local grocer, look for fruits and vegetables grown right here in the great Northwest. At the very least, be sure to shop local in late summer and fall, when Washington’s harvest hits a crescendo and local produce of every variety imaginable floods farmers markets and your local grocery.

• Eat what’s in season

Not only is seasonal produce cheaper (due to its natural abundance), it’s at its absolute peak of flavor and nutrients (right now, we’re talking asparagus). Fresh local berries, for instance, have an unrivaled fragrance and flavor. Freeze or preserve your favorites for a supply throughout the year, or stock your freezer with local frozen fruit so you’ll never have to do without.

• Embrace alternatives

If your favorite fruit or vegetable is out of season, use the opportunity to experiment with something different. If you can’t buy organic and local, strive to still buy organic produce, which is required to be grown in ways which minimize environmental damage.

Karen Gaudette is food writer for PCC Natural Markets