Top 5 Ways to Find Healthy Foods Near Me

We will talk about the top 5 ways you can find healthy foods near you, be it in a metropolitan city, a town, or even a village. You can find healthy organic fruits, vegetables, and meats if you follow the steps mentioned below.

Why do you need to eat organic foods? Here’s why: in a research study published in 2019 in the health journal “Environmental Research,” it was found that children who ate organic foods had fewer pesticides in their urine compared to children who ate a regular diet. Although pesticides keep pests away from crops, they are inherently harmful to the human body.

Just a few side effects of pesticides include acute and chronic toxicity in the body, respiratory issues, allergic reactions, and developmental issues in children. This makes it clear that we need to ensure that the foods that we consume have little or no pesticides in them.

This is why sourcing organic foods is so important. Let us now find out how we can source organic and healthy foods in India.

1. Local farmers’ markets
2. Scout for organic food shops near by
3. Join a community-supported agriculture (CSA) group
4. Health food websites
5. Use filters on food delivery apps
6. Bonus way: Visit organic farms

1.) Local farmers’ markets

Local farmers’ markets are an excellent choice to source organic fruits and vegetables. This is how you can locate a local farmers’ market near you:

• Inquire around: Ask around your circle and inquire about your nearest farmers’ market. Chances are there are other people in your network who are interested in eating healthy and are already buying their produce from such markets. Perhaps you can even use Instagram and Facebook to create a broadcast.
• Use a search engine: If inquiring about your nearest farmers’ market doesn’t get you far, you can always use a search engine to find out where your nearest farmers’ market is. For instance, we did a simple Google search with the phrase “local farmers market near Mumbai,” and the search engine gave a variety of great options, such as the Farmers’ Market in Nariman Point, the Farmers’ Market in Vashi, and the Bandra Farmers’ Market, along with their days and timings.

2.) Scout for organic food shops near by

Organic food shops have been increasing in popularity recently as people become more aware of the benefits of healthy organic foods. Some of the top organic food shops brands include:

• The Food Hall
• Suryan Organic
• Orgpick
• NBLC Organic Health Store
• Conscious Foods
• Navdanya
• Jaivik Haat
• Ayuda Organics
• Natures Basket

3.) Join a community-supported agriculture (CSA) group

A community-supported agriculture (CSA) group is a partnership between farmers and consumers. This is where consumers buy shares in the farmer’s venture, and the farmer supplies produce to the consumers in the form of dividends. It is a novel concept that is quite popular in western nations. 

Popular CSAs in India would include:

• The Navadarshanam CSA
• CSA India

4.) Health food websites

This is an extremely convenient way to order healthy organic food from the comfort of your own home. Let us list the most notable websites that deliver fresh, organic, and healthy food directly to homes.

• Organic Tattva
• Amazon India
• Naturally Yours
• Natures Basket
• Healthybuddha.in

5.) Use filters on food delivery apps

You can even use popular food delivery apps like Zomato and Swiggy to order organic fruits and vegetables by filtering out only the food partners that deal in organic produce. This is a highly convenient way of placing orders for organic foods for the busy individual.

6.) Visit organic farms (Bonus Way)

What better way to ascertain the authenticity of the food that you eat than by actually visiting the farm on which it is grown? Although impractical for most, the adventurous individual can plan a picnic on the farm and even simultaneously find out how his or her food is grown.

This, however, only needs to be done once, as once you have taken a first-hand tour of the organic farm and are satisfied with what you have seen, you do not need to visit it again.

How do I identify the authenticity of organic food in India?

So, you’ve ordered organic produce at home; now how do you identify the authenticity of the food? Well, follow these steps. Check for the following seals on your food packaging:

• Jaivik Bharat seal along with the FSSAI registration number
• India Organic Certified Seal
• PGS-India Certified Organic Seal

Apart from this, organic foods are generally imperfect and not as pretty to look at compared to GMO foods. Keep an eye on this. They also have a limited shelf life compared to GMO foods.

Studies highlighting the benefits of organic foods over a conventional diet

We know you’re serious about your food, here are 3 studies highlighting the benefits of organic foods compared to GMO foods. Have a look:

• Association of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption With Cancer Risk
• Association between intake of fruits and vegetables by pesticide residue status and coronary heart disease risk
• Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
• Organic Food For Thought
• A Comparative Analysis of Conventional, Genetically Modified (GM) Crops and Organic Farming Practices
• Human health implications of organic food and organic agriculture