Farmer's Market?

[ChetMC]

Is it just me or does there seem to be two kinds of farmers markets?

Some of them are trendy and hip in an alternative kind of way, and they're more expensive than the grocery store. Others you can legitimately buy ten pounds of carrots for $2 from a farmer.

[cschick]

Originally Posted by ChetMC

Is it just me or does there seem to be two kinds of farmers markets?

Some of them are trendy and hip in an alternative kind of way, and they're more expensive than the grocery store. Others you can legitimately buy ten pounds of carrots for $2 from a farmer.

It depends on what you're looking for. In my experience, the hip/trendy ones are populated with certified organic farmers, while the cheaper ones and roadside farmstands are often populated by small farmers growing with conventional methods (high-nitrogen fertilization, pesticides, etc).

You are still supporting the small farmer by going to the second, but whether the produce is any better than what's in the grocery is debatable. It's almost definitely fresher.

[Turquesa]

You may be surprised. It's a matter of talking to the farmers and asking about their farming methods. Most small-scale operations cannot afford all of the red tape to earn official USDA Organic certification, but their methods are often on par with all things organic. Smaller farms don't have any perceived "need" to hose everything down in pesticides or to genetically engineer crops for larger production, so many don't bother. In fact, part of what you're paying for with "certified organic" is everything that it takes to get that certification! In my area, it's cheaper to travel out to individual farms, especially harvest-your-own type operations. Those are my favorites because I feel so connected to what I eat.

[EFmom]

Sadly, we only have the expensive ones. Buying one week's worth of produce is more than I would normally spend on an entire week's worth of all groceries at the grocery store.

They are fun to visit, but we seldom go because I don't need to spend $15 on lettuce.

[Peony]

Originally Posted by EFmom

Sadly, we only have the expensive ones. Buying one week's worth of produce is more than I would normally spend on an entire week's worth of all groceries at the grocery store.

They are fun to visit, but we seldom go because I don't need to spend $15 on lettuce.

Exactly. I see *some* ok priced produce but the vast majority of it is way more then I normally spend on produce. While I'd love to support my local farmer, I also have to keep my food bills within a budget.

[Coconut Chronicles]

When we lived in Ohio we had access to amazing farmers markets and co-ops. Man we were spoiled... Then we moved to Florida and few that are in and around our area are the "trendy" kind. Now I just stick to Whole Foods and the grocery store.

[cschick]

Originally Posted by Turquesa

You may be surprised. It's a matter of talking to the farmers and asking about their farming methods. Most small-scale operations cannot afford all of the red tape to earn official USDA Organic certification, but their methods are often on par with all things organic. Smaller farms don't have any perceived "need" to hose everything down in pesticides or to genetically engineer crops for larger production, so many don't bother. In fact, part of what you're paying for with "certified organic" is everything that it takes to get that certification! In my area, it's cheaper to travel out to individual farms, especially harvest-your-own type operations. Those are my favorites because I feel so connected to what I eat.

Around here, it seems that any place that offers better deals than the grocery isn't going all organic. Even the places that aren't certified organic but are willing to tell you all about why their methods are basically organic, is selling their produce for a pretty penny.

All of the u-pick places I've been to use pesticides and other non-organic methods to up their harvest. Heck, even most of the home gardeners I know dose their gardens with lots of stuff I get kind of laughed at around here, since the only thing I tend to use is blood meal.

[ChetMC]

To Elaborate

When we lived in Eastern Canada I would sometimes see the EXACT same product at the farmer's market and the grocery store. Same jumbo carton of locally grown blueberries. The name of the farm was on the box, and it was $3 cheaper at the grocery store. I've seen the same thing with locally grown apples.

Now, maybe the grocery store was ripping the farmer off. Maybe the price at the market was the fair price. I don't know. I'm somewhat suspicious that the market was just targeting a niche that was willing to pay more... at least to a degree. I do notice markets in other cities being a better deal.

The market we go to here in Montreal consistently undercuts the grocery store. Some of the stands are clearly bringing in produce (Cantaloupe doesn't grow in Quebec) and just selling it cheaper than the grocery store, I'm guessing because they don't have the same overhead. For example though, the grocery store flyer will have cantaloupes for $2.25 and the market will have them for 3 for $5 the same week. But the local stuff (apples, carrots, cabbage, corn, etc) is super cheap and really nice.

[swd12422]

Here, some of the (organic) u-pick farms are cheaper than conventional produce at the grocery store but the farmers' market produce is definitely not cheaper. I pay $1/head of garlic and I have to say it is so worth it -- the grocery store garlic is tasteless compared to this stuff. Same with eggs - at $4/dozen for organic eggs at the grocery store, I can pay my mom's neighbor $4/dozen and get eggs laid yesterday. Again, they make the grocery store eggs pale and tasteless by comparison. Other things I'm not willing to pay more for, but I found a regional co-op that does pretty well price-wise, so I hardly buy any produce at the grocery store anymore.

[Dandelionkid]

Thanks for posting this. Drives me crazy every year that the grocery-store is so much cheaper than the farmer's market. I think because local food has been popularized now and there is greater demand.

[justmama]

yeah the only farmer's markets around here are the trendy expensive type. And they truly are lovely to visit and enjoy but crap are they pricey. i can't afford a darn thing there.