Though we might not all be farmers or gardners, we are all connected to farmers who produce and grow our food. Bring more intentionality to what you eat in this Shmita year by buying more locally-grown foods and getting to know the farmers in your community.  

Each new season of the Shmita year, take a moment to eat a special food. As you eat, give gratitude to the many hands involved in bringing that food to your table. You may also use these moments to consider how easy or challenging it might be to eat seasonally where you live. How do you learn which foods are in season? Are there other foods you associate with each season? 

Here are some of our seasonal food favorites: 
- Autumn foods may look like your Rosh Hashanah seder table, with squash, pumpkins, beets, leeks, pomegranates and apples. 
- Winter is a perfect time to try the types of preserved, fermented or dried foods that carried our ancestors through cold weather. 
- Springtime foods like parsley and lettuce make an appearance on our Passover seder plates, along with special foods like ramps, fresh peas and asparagus.
- Summer brings a bounty of tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and berries. 

What will you eat to connect to the earth this Shmita year? 


Service Section: Food Blessings 
Source: Adapted from Hazon http://hazon.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/%E2%80%98SHMITA-FOODS%E2%80%99-SEDER_Facilitator-Copy.pdf