What’s In Season? Spotlight on Spring Produce

As we usher in spring, there are many pleasantries to enjoy: warm air, sunshine, outdoor activities, and a fresh bounty of ripe spring produce. Whether you’re a salad lover or a strawberry enthusiast, many of your favorite fruits and vegetables will be ripe for the picking over the next few weeks.

The Seasonal Produce Cycle

Did you ever wonder why produce is in-season when it is? The seasonal growing cycle is completely in-tune with what our bodies need at different times throughout the year. Mother nature provides all the right foods at the right times.

Spring

Spring vegetables and fruits are focused on cleansing, packed with nutrients and fiber that help your body release toxins after a long winter of heavy comfort foods.

Summer

Summer produce is all about hydration. Fruits and vegetables grown throughout the summer contain high amounts of water to hydrate you in the heat. They also have a higher sugar content to provide extra energy.

Fall

These fruits and vegetables are packed with Vitamin A, which is beneficial when there are fewer hours of sunlight. Fall produce helps transition our bodies from hot to cold.

Winter

In the height of cold and flu season, seasonal produce offers an extra boost of Vitamin C for your immune system. This season is ripe with citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruits, and clementines.

What To Buy This Spring

Stauffers’s produce buyers have stocked our produce section with in-season vegetables and fruits harvested throughout April and May. Add a few to your shopping cart this spring!

Spring Fruits and Vegetables:

• Artichokes

• Asparagus

• Broccoli

• Carrots

• Green beans

• Leafy greens (kale, spinach, collard greens, green/red leaf lettuce, romaine)

• Onions

• Snow peas

• Zucchini

• Tomatoes

• Honeydew

• Mangos

• Pineapple

• Rhubarb

• Strawberries

Growing Spring Produce in Lancaster County

Are you interested in how we determine what produce overflows the displays in Stauffers produce sections? We work with a select network of Lancaster Country growers to ensure that we’re offering local produce, grown (almost) in our own backyard. Here’s a snapshot of how our produce buyers work with local farmers to source the peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes you’ll be savoring in the weeks to come.

Looking for great ways to serve your favorite spring produce?  Our Recipes page features lots of dishes that showcase these fresh vegetables and fruits.