What we found was some vendors selling nectarines, plums and apricots from the United States. I soon realized you have to be a shrewd shopper if you want to make sure you’re getting a local product.

The vendors did have lots of fresh local produce, but, as Ms Gharibian explained, many farmers markets allow vendors to sell produce from other places when it isn’t in season in Ontario.

While some places like Toronto have begun to certify farmers’ markets by approaching vendors and making sure they’re selling local produce, in York Region we’ll just have to rely on a few easy tips to make sure we’re getting the real deal.

Look, touch and smell
Check to see you’re getting different sizes of potatoes, onions and strawberries.

It’s a sign they were grown locally since imported produce is usually graded so it’s all the same size.

On local produce, the skin will be more tender and it will be more fragrant because it has been harvested more recently and hasn’t spent days on a truck.

Ask questions
The advantage of buying local is the chance to have personal interaction with the farmer who grows your food, Ms Gharibian said.

You can ask him yourself if he uses pesticides or other chemicals in his growing process.

Many farmers don’t use pesticides, but haven’t gone through the process of being certified organic because it is lengthy and often costly.

By buying from a local grower, you can talk to the farmer directly and even go visit the farm if you wish, to see how it operates.

Know what’s in season
Right now, tomatoes, basil and green beans are all in season, so it’s a good time to make tomato sauce and store it in the freezer. Fresh green and yellow beans also keep well in the freezer.

All you have to do is wash them and put them in a sealable plastic bag.

Check Foodland Ontario’s website (www.foodland.gov.on.ca) to keep up with what is being harvested.

Try everything
The best thing about local food is that it tastes better. When you’re eating food that ripens on the vine, you can use less seasoning, Ms Gharibian said.

Local food experts Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon, authors of The 100-Mile Diet, say their quest to eat locally has broadened their culinary horizons.

“Farmers and farmers markets introduced us to foods and flavours we’d never tried before. We discovered the seasons, and the micro-seasons, and the micro-micro-seasons.”

What’s available is always changing, they say on their website (http://100milediet.org/).

Ms Gharibian reports that her two-year-old is more likely to eat his vegetables when they’re local because they are so much tastier.

With a little planning and foresight you can make the most of Ontario’s short growing season.

Last Wednesday, I bought fresh peaches, tomatoes, garlic, peppers and basil.

I ate some of the peaches and washed and cut up the rest and froze them.

So far, I’ve used them in pancakes and in plain yogurt.

The basil I combined with a few not-so-local ingredients to make pesto, some of which I froze and some of which I combined with fresh pasta, peppers and tomatoes to make a delicious, hearty summer salad.