I’ve heard many people talk about the benefits of buying locally grown, fresh produce from farmers markets. The fruits and vegetables are said to be healthier for you because the animals are healthy and the food is not processed or chemically altered in any way.
Based on my research, it appeared that most farmers markets in my area do not open until May 1st, but there are a few that open year round. I found one not too far from my home and decided to pay them a visit this weekend. I stopped by the ATM, withdrew $40 (ha ha yea right), and was on my way to a farmers market for the first time ever. I was fascinated by what I saw, so I tried to sneak a few pictures to capture the experience.
The farmers market was set up in a parking lot near city government buildings. There were about 20 farmers’ booths and it wasn’t too crowded to throw me into sensory overload.
There were about 2-3 farmers selling fruit. I love fruit, but I was disappointed because I was expecting way, way more fruit variety and many more options. After perusing the limited selection, I bought a few apples. See below for my experience after I got them home.
There were many farmers selling a variety of greens, either small bags of them or plants to take home and grow yourself.
There were lots of homemade preservatives and sauces for sale, but I’m not a fan of communal taste testing so I didn’t stop at this table.
There was even a person out there selling homemade chocolate candy. *heaven* I don’t know why, but this was surprising to me. I guess I was expecting a farmers market selling all natural, healthy foods. I was curious, so I chatted the man up about his ingredients and candy making process. While standing there, the smells invaded my nostrils and my mouth started watering. Needless to say, I bought 2 pieces of the dark chocolate for $3.00 and ran away…quickly!
Lots of baked goods for sale. Again, this surprised me. And the prices were riTHICKulous! $10 for a small cherry pie. Puh-leeze!
I didn’t get a picture of it (too distracted), but there was another lady at the next table who was selling various breads: zucchini bread, banana bread, sweet potato bread, carrot bread…you get the picture. Her line was super long so I figured she was very popular. When I asked if I could taste a piece of the zucchini bread, she unwrapped a loaf, cut off a tiny slice, and it was TO DIE for. I was sold before I could ask her how much it cost. When she bagged it up and said $5.75, I handed it over without a second thought. But when I walked away, I asked myself “did you just pay $6 for a loaf of friggin bread?” Yea, you big dummy! LOL Oh well, it is sooooo good.
Eggs…farm fresh eggs. When I lived in Maryland, a lady at work used to bring cartons of eggs from home and several coworkers bought them. I never bought any, but I always had a feeling they were expensive. Well, ladies and gentleman, here’s a dozen farm fresh eggs for $5.00. FIVE dollars! Did I buy a carton? Yep! LOL Why? When I asked how their chickens were raised, they were very excited to describe their chicken coop, explain their farming philosophy, and felt the need to emphasize that their chickens are not injected with steroids and are fed all natural products. With that bit of information, I was convinced that this $5.00 purchase will mean these eggs are healthier for me. *shrug*
$3.00 for 6 turkey eggs? Geez! And they are huge! Wonder what turkey eggs taste like?
There was a family selling fresh bread for $5.00+ per loaf. The whole wheat bread looked really good, but I didn’t buy any.
Lots of farmers were selling meats – mainly various types of sausage and different parts of the buffalo. As a first time farmers market shopper, I wasn’t interested in buying any meat during this trip. In fact, I was even afraid to open the coolers. No telling what was in there! Raw dog food tongue anyone?
No idea why I took this picture. The plant was strange to me. Wonder what food it grows?
And this, my dear readers, is a bag of five…count ‘em…1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Fuji apples that I bought for $7.75. Yes, almost EIGHT bucks for FIVE apples. Now I’m happy to support my local farmers and all that jazz. It also pleases me to know that what I’m buying/eating is not chemically altered, but I’ve been sorely disappointed with these apples so far.
As soon as I got home, I couldn’t wait to bite into a locally grown, juicy Fuji apple. But I don’t eat apple peels because they make my mouth itch, so I used my apple slicer to cut it open and remove the core. And OMG! The darn apple was brown on the INSIDE! *gag* When I went to remove the core, it crumbled in the sink. *gag x 2* I was disgusted and tempted to throw them ALL in the trash. But then I remembered how much I paid for these suckers and decided to try another one.
The second one was not rotten but it wasn’t as firm and didn’t taste as sweet or as juicy as I expected. In fact, the Fuji apples from Giant taste much better. As I was eating it, my tummy started hurting. At first, I thought it was all in my mind due to the experience with the first apple, so I kept eating the apple slices and drinking lots of water. By the time I was done with the water, my tummy settled, but I still felt a little funny.
I haven’t decided if I’m going to try another one. When BG gets home, I’ll ask her to try one and get her opinion. If she doesn’t like it, I’m throwing the rest of them away.
My Overall Opinion
So far, my opinion of farmers market shopping is middle of the road. There were some hits and some misses – and ALL of it was very expensive. I bought some other stuff too and spent my entire $40. If I decide to visit another farmers market, it will be after May when there are more farmers on display and more food variety. And next time, if there is a next time, I’m also going to follow these shopping tips and take more money with me.
Do you shop at farmers markets? If so, what has been your experience? Do you have any tips for a newbie like me?
Similar Posts:
- Farmers Market Brings “Community” to Terwillegar, Riverbend
- How To Keep Eating Well On a Budget
- Grocery Budget? What Grocery Budget?
- Day 26 (Friday) and 27 (Saturday) of 5k Training – Almost There
- Android Captures Market Share, But Apple Strikes Back
Post Comment