By Patrick Baron

LIVINGSTON – As people head to the grocery stores to prepare for holiday meals, a horticulture educator is suggesting buying food for the holidays locally.

Kelly Allsup with the University of Illinois extension in Livingston says sourcing a holiday meal through local farmers is easier than people think.

“One of the things that I’m going to do is go to my farmers market website and look at the farmers that contribute to that farmers market, and go to their web pages and look and see what kind of seasonal items they’re offering,” Allsup explained.

Allsup said even buying a pumpkin can help support local farms, as a majority of pumpkins in the marketplace come from Illinois farmers.

Allsup also highlighted the Livingston 4-H Enrichment program, which is making strides in teaching students about farming. She explains Livingston master gardeners go into schools and help the teachers promote horticulture in science.

“What they’re doing is they’re going into schools and teaching lessons on pollination, or the web of life, or seed germination,” said Allsup.

Allsup explained the master gardeners often struggle to keep up with the number of students in the program. To accommodate the demand, there will be a master gardener training class available next fall.

Patrick Baron can be reached at [email protected].