Don’t settle for hand-me-down tomatoes!! Get all you can get …in season!
Do you like hand-me-downs from brothers or sisters? Probably not. You like new and fresh clothes. Are you as picky about your food as you are about your clothes? You should be! Why settle for second-best when you have a choice? Take a tomato for example. Often tomatoes are picked when they are green and then hauled for miles and miles in trucks before they arrive at a grocery store. Eventually they will slowly turn red but they will not gain more nutrients. Tomatoes that are allowed to ripen on the vine, however, contain 25% to 33% more vitamin C than tomatoes picked too early.

So okay, you can’t avoid getting old clothes sometimes, but you can choose to buy tomatoes (and other fruits and veggies!) that are fresh, grown in a nearby field, and as full of vitamins and minerals as possible. Since many grocery stores buy produce from local farmers, you can ask your parents to start buying local fruits and vegetables. You can also visit your local farmer’s market. Or–if it’s possible–start growing them yourself!