Ronda Bokram, a nutritionist at Olin Health Center, said as the weather warms the foods people crave may change.

“What is different about winter versus spring eating is the availability of different types and more variety of produce, both fruits and vegetables,” Bokram said. “This is especially true in places where there is actual winter weather, as in the Midwest. You can buy more local once it is possible to grow things locally.”

Corie Pierce, manager of the MSU Student Organic Farm, said local produce becomes available in the late spring and early summer for those looking to incorporate fresh food into their diets.

“In the spring in April, May and June you can find local salad greens, lettuce, chives, onions, rhubarb and radishes depending on what kind of spring warmth we have,” Pierce said.

“We have six very large hoop houses, and we are growing the mentioned foods to make more food available year-round and be kind of ahead of the curve. We also have crops in storage from last year, like rutabaga, potatoes, onions, garlic, winter squash, cabbage and beets.”

Not only are seasonal foods local and fresh, but they may provide meals and snacks with greater nutritional value.

Leah Smith, farm assistant of Nodding Thistle Farm, 697 Eaton Road, in Nashville, Mich., said seasonal foods have higher vitamin content than store-bought food.

“Fresh foods are better for your health because the fresher they are, the more vitamins and minerals they have in them. The less fresh the food, the less vitamins and minerals it has because (vitamins) begin to break down in the food,” Smith said. “I would say that if you make yourself eat seasonally, you eat a more diverse variety of food.”

The one catch is that most seasonal foods won’t be ready for harvest for a few more months, but there are options for those who don’t want to wait that long.

John Hooper, market manager for the Lansing City Market, 333 N. Cedar St., in Lansing, said while fresh Michigan produce will not come into season until late spring, there is hope due to hoop houses, which are allowing farmers to grow crops for sale sooner than before.

“There are not really any foods in season right now in Michigan because of our climate, even though we are second in the country in agricultural production. As you well know, our winters are harsh,” Hooper said.

“The light at the end of the tunnel, though, is that some fresh foods are still available because of hoop houses. Through MSU and such, a number of people in Michigan are growing food in hoop houses, which are unheated structures that you can grow in year-round. Crops are planted in the fall and kept in the hoop houses all winter. The only fresh thing available in Michigan on a limited basis right now is leafy greens, kale, lettuce, spinach and salad mixes from hoop houses.”

Some foods come into season sooner than others as well, Hooper said, which allows for a gradual adjustment of your diet to spring foods.

“Some of the first things that become available in Michigan are asparagus, snow peas and greens like kale and spinach,” Hooper said. “Hoop houses do offer an opportunity for Michiganders to have access to fresh food much sooner than past. We will be seeing some foods in April and May that we used to not see so soon because farmers had to (wait) for the soil to thaw and now they don’t have to because of the hoop houses. Normally, Michigan doesn’t hit its stride really until June. We have a bountiful harvest but it’s definitely seasonal.”

Despite the wait, spring foods are something to consider as the weather turns sunnier and life returns to the frozen tundra we call Michigan.

“If you treat food as if everything is available year-round, theoretically, it makes it less special,” Smith said. “If you learn to eat in season, you can get the food when it’s at its freshest and it’s more of a treat and something special.”