Did you hear about the big expose that one of the TV news trouble shooters reported on this week involving an organic farmer? It seems this well known local organic farmer at an Oakland County farmers market actually bought a lot of the produce he sold from the Eastern Market and other wholesalers.
Actually this type of scam isn’t uncommon. At many farmers markets many of the so called farmers aren’t selling what they grew. And that’s important because what people buying from a farmers market want is to connect with the person who grew the vegetables and fruit. And if you advertise that the food is grown locally it should be.
It’s understandable that some farmers don’t like to do the selling themselves or are too busy and that they send family members or even hire people to sell the vegetables and fruits. If these people don’t represent themselves as the grower, and they are selling local produce and they can tell customers how the crop was grown, maybe even the variety names of produce then this is a legitimate local crop. But anyone who is buying produce wholesale from people he has never met and from out of state is not a legitimate candidate for the farmers market.
Anyone can buy produce from a grocery store- whose buyers also visit those wholesale markets. And that produce is often cheaper than produce at the farmers market. It’s unfair for people to pose as growers, increase the prices and fool people into believing produce is grown locally and organically if it is not. It’s unfair to other farmers who struggle with the weather, insects and disease to produce an organic or conventional crop and then have to compete with crops that were grown in distant places and flown in.
It’s tempting to many farmers who faced crop failure or sold out of a crop just to buy produce and keep the customer happy and coming back. Customers want to find what they are looking for on a regular basis. But buying produce from distant areas and selling it as local is just unfair and it negates all the benefits of buying local- less fuel and pollution from transporting produce, keeping money in the community and knowing who grew your food.
If that farmer accepts Project Fresh coupons for produce he may also be facing government fraud complaints. Project Fresh coupons are issued to low income families and seniors to purchase locally grown produce only. Many stands at farmers markets do accept them. If the farmer isn’t growing the food locally then he is committing fraud.
Part of the problem lies with the consumers. They are not knowledgeable about what is grown locally and may have unrealistic expectations of what local growers can provide and when they can provide it. They may also pass over less than perfect fruits and vegetables for their prettier neighbors at another stand, not realizing that organic crops are often less visually appealing.
For a list of what crops should be available locally you can check this site on this page. This is updated every couple of weeks and is based on what MSU fruit and vegetable crop experts are saying about local crops. Sometimes a farmer using some smart tricks can have a crop ready before or after others in the area but when farmers markets are offering blueberries in May or cherries in October something is wrong. Look over the market. If a lot of people are offering the same crop its probably in season. Consumers must realize that most crops are not available in all seasons.
Other things consumers can do to make sure that what they are buying is really locally grown is to ask questions of the farmer. Realize that he or she may be busy waiting on other customers and the answers will be short. But ask where the farm is located, if the seller grew the crops, and if you are interested in buying only organic produce ask the seller to confirm the crop is organically grown. Asking what variety a tomato or sweet corn is and getting a ready answer is a good sign the farmer grew the produce.
Michigan farm stands that are selling oranges, pineapple or other tropical fruits are suspect because they are purchasing these from somewhere else and probably other things on the stand also. Farmers markets do not have to sell just organically grown produce, but if they are making oral or written statements that the crop is organic then they are committing fraud if it isn’t.
The law requires that all fruits and vegetables be labeled with the country of origin- but if the produce is grown in the U.S. the state it is grown in does not need to be listed. However some out of season produce is probably coming from Mexico, South America and other places. Therefore the sellers, (we won’t call them farmers) are probably breaking another labeling law.
It would be nice if market managers had to confirm that farmers actually had a farm and that they were following all federal and state labeling laws but it isn’t likely to happen. It’s up to the consumer to use common sense and gain some knowledge before going shopping. It would be nice if the farmers’ market sellers also policed themselves, turning in those who are frauds.
Most farmers’ market sellers are honest people trying to make a living doing something they love. They deserve to be supported and buying and eating locally are still wonderful things to do for you and your community.
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