Ontarians urged to ‘buy local’ this apple season [Video]

Ontario apple growers are urging consumers to buy locally grown fruit this year as the 2024 apple season gets underway.

Whether at the grocery store, a local market, or pick-your-own farm, growers say consumers can expect a wide variety and quantity of delicious fresh apples available this year.

“The 2024 growing season saw an abundance of rain in some areas of the province and very little in others, so we have an excellent crop of apples of all sizes that are ripening earlier than normal this year,” said Brian Rideout, who farms in Chatham-Kent and is chair of the Ontario Apple Growers. “Ontario growers have the expertise and the technology to grow excellent apples and consumers will have plenty of great quality locally grown apples to choose from this year.”

According to the Ontario Apple Growers, Ontario’s most popular apple varieties are Gala, Honeycrisp, and Ambrosia – trees that produce the juicy, …