Hello and welcome to Living in the Lehigh Valley, where our focus is your health and wellness.

I'm your host, Brittany Sweeney.

Tis the season for fresh fruits and veggies.

This time of year, farm stands pop up across the Lehigh Valley.

But is there nutritional value to eating locally grown produce?

I spoke to a local farmer and dietitian about the benefits.

With two kids in tow.

This is where we went to Apple one with a big, ripe and ready to go.

Carolyn Moroni shows her four year old an 18 month old, how to pick the perfect berry.

We want to keep moving over here.

Have you?

That's definitely always important to us to support the local people and get some fresh, organic berries.

The Bethlehem mom is teaching her children the benefits of picking local produce, set valley fruits and veggies in East Allen Township.

It's important because, you know, it's less pesticides.

There's nothing in the berries that's going to hurt them.

It's their favorite fruit.

And we just love to eat organic and fresh fruits.

Picking the perfect strawberry is all about knowing that strawberries do not get any more red.

Once you pick them, it's not like a tomato that will continue to ripen and on your counter.

So you want to go for the most beautiful, gorgeous strawberry that you can find, and then you're going to pinch the stem to pick it off and it is going to be absolutely delicious and you're going to enjoy every moment of it.

Oh, my gosh.

Red all the way through and juicy and everything.

And that's the difference between a store-bought berry and a fresh picked berry at Valley Fruits and Veggies.

The owner of Valley Fruits and Veggies, Deb Colitas, says nothing compares to fresh picked produce.

The benefit of having a local farm with fresh fruits like this is that you understand where your food comes from and the freshness is second to none.

Colitas says they plant around 45,000 plants on their family farm, hoping folks from all around the valley will shop local for their food.

The grocery store, strawberries.

While they can be good, they are specifically bred so that they're going to transport because they're coming from a thousand miles away.

When you can say that you've gotten a berry from down the street is a totally different experience as they're juicy and red all the way through.

Suzanne Ickes is the Sodexo clinical dietician at Lehigh Valley Health Network.

She agrees that there's a difference between store bought and farm fresh.

Locally grown produce is going to give you the best taste.

We also know that once the vegetable is picked, it starts to lose its nutrients.

Now you're not going to have a significant loss.

It's not like the vegetables in the grocery store don't have value.

They do.

But they're not going to taste as good.

And the nutrition quality of the ones that you get at your farmstand are going to be better.

Not only is there nutritional value, but Ickes says, exposing children to the process of picking your own fruits and vegetables sets them up for success in the future.

It makes them more comfortable eating fruits and vegetables, and the more exposure you give your children to fruits and vegetables, whether it's at the farmstand or at the dinner table, the more likely they are going to grow up eating more fruits and vegetables on a regular basis.

She adds that these types of nutrient rich foods should be eaten with every meal.

Dietitians are recommending that you eat half of your plate as fruits and vegetables at lunch and at dinner, and that's good for so many reasons.

It can help with weight loss.

It adds a bunch of antioxidants to your diet.

If you're trying to reduce your sodium intake, fruits and vegetables are naturally low in sodium.

While out on the farm in addition to the dietary benefits, Colitas says she sees people's moods change during the picking process.

Everyone needs to be outside for their own mental health, get the kids outside, get dirty.

We say we do not weigh people before and after they're in the strawberry fields, so snacking is completely acceptable.

But it's the whole idea of just being able to be spending time together and having a memory, taking those pictures and celebrating your family.

And it seems the customers agree.

Picking something fresh from your own garden or as as close as it is to your place there at your home.

There's nothing not nothing at stake here.

So it's always great to have fresh vegetables just for nutritional value.

We also think it tastes a lot better and it's healthier.

There are more benefits to eating organic and the kids just happen to love strawberries.

So this is a great, fun little thing to do for us to get out in the sun and enjoy some time together.

Strawberry season is short lived.

Colitas says it typically wraps up in mid to late June, but Ickes says there are plenty of farmers markets and stands to buy fresh local produce throughout the summer and into the fall.

That'll do it for this edition of Living in the Lehigh Valley.

I'm Brittany Sweeney.

Hoping you stay happy and healthy.