Summer is a locavore’s dream, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetable choices that fit in perfectly with the long days and warm weather. In the winter months, particularly in colder climates, many locavores believe they have to give up eating local produce, but that isn’t necessarily so.

Locavores are discovering they can eat local produce even when the days are short and the weather is cold. It’s true that finding locally grown fruit is nearly impossible in winter for most U.S. residents but year-round farmers’ markets do offer many options, including winter greens and root vegetables. Potatoes, beets, cabbage, carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, onions, garlic, celery root, leeks and kale are all popular local wintertime fare in many regions of the country.

Diane Wright Hirsch, an Extension Service food safety specialist with the University of Connecticut, thinks it’s time to forget the notion that eating seasonally in the winter is boring. She encourages consumers to eat as much local food as they can.

“Think outside the recipe box,” she said. “Make pancakes or hash browns from shredded sweet or white potatoes or rutabagas. Kale and other winter greens are great for vegetable and potato soups.”

The Christian Science Monitor reports that many year-round farmers’ markets are popping up across the country. It’s a trend that is expected to build momentum as more consumers seek a local connection to the foods they eat.

The Rhode Island Wintertime Farmers’ Market has been in business since December 2007 and continues to grow in popularity. Much of the produce is grown in greenhouses, but live lobsters, baked goods and grass-fed beef also are popular.

In cold and snowy Fort Collins, Colo., a winter farmers’ market run by Be Local Northern Colorado offers root vegetables, meats, wine and cider, cheese, baked goods, coffee and crafts. The market started in 2006 and expanded this year to 10 dates.

In Eureka Springs, Ark., a number of farmers are striving to make a year-round farmers’ market a success.

“We local farmers are closing the loop, providing access to fresh food 12 months out of the year for local residents,” said Patrice Gros, owner of Foundation Farm. “With the addition of hoop-house greenhouses, we have become capable of growing throughout the year.”

Most consumers view farmers’ markets as a summertime tradition, but serious locavores are looking for ways to eat locally year round, which should help the number of wintertime markets grow across the country. Demand and traffic won’t be robust as in the summer but clearly, many locavores retain their “buy local” enthusiasm throughout the winter.

“We do hear of more farmers’ markets trying to find ways to extend the season,” said Erin Barnett with Local Harvest, a Web site that provides a comprehensive database of U.S. farmers’ markets. “Some offer a once- or twice-a-month schedule through the winter, or at least until the end of the calendar year.”