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Did you know when you buy fruits and vegetables at the supermarket that only 5 to 10 cents out of every dollar goes directly to.jpg)
the farmer?!! That's why farmers' markets are so important to a farmer's prosperity and ability to keep on farming. The person you see behind the booth at the market is the person who grew those products and who has a stake in whether the product is fresh, tastes good, and is healthy for the customers.
Farming is their livelihood and they respond to customers in a way that is not possible in a grocery store. Customers get to know their farmer, know where the products are grown, and know how they are grown. Farmers can answer questions, advise you on how to prepare and cook the product, and offer advice about the product. Can you get that at the supermarket?
What makes a farmers' market great is that you are getting a wider variety of fruits and vegetables than those which is usually available at the grocery store; you are buying locally from growers in California, which also means you are helping the environment by buying products that haven't been trucked thousands of miles; you are aware of where the produce comes from and are less likely to have to worry about salmonella and e. coli outbreaks; and best of all, the products are the freshest they can be with all the flavor and nutrients that fruits and vegetables should have.
I heard on Rachel Ray's show one day that, "Studies over the last fifty years of fruits and vegetables have shown that 6 out of 13 nutrients have seen major decline in -- calcium, vitamin C, iron, riboflavin -- the nutrients that we really need," says David Zinczenko, known for his Eat This, Not That books. Produce that is massed produced in corporately-owned acreage is planted and picked so often that the produce doesn't have time to absorb all the nutrients that they should, since they are picked before they are ripe so they travel better, and that they have 30% less nutrient value than those grown slowly and allowed to reach their full potential on a small farm! Amazing, isn't it?
Here's a great list on the 10 Reasons To Shope Your Local Farmers' Market. Maybe you can think of other reasons!
1. TASTE REAL FLAVORS. The fruits and vegetables you buy at the farmers markets are the freshest and tastiest available. Fruits are allowed to ripen in the field and brought directly to you—no long-distance shipping, no gassing to simulate the ripening process, no sitting for weeks in storage. This food is as real as it gets—food fresh from the farm.
2. ENJOY THE SEASON. The food you buy at the farmers’ market is seasonal. It is fresh and delicious and reflects the truest flavors. Shopping and cooking from the farmers’ market helps you to reconnect with the cycles of nature in our region. As you look forward to asparagus in spring, savor sweet corn in summer, or bake pumpkins in autumn, you reconnect with the earth, the weathers, and the turning of the year.
3. SUPPORT FAMILY FARMERS. Family farmers are becoming increasingly rare as large agribusiness farms and ranches steadily take over food production in the U.S. Small family farms have a hard time competing in the food marketplace. Buying directly from farmers gives them a better return for their produce and gives them a fighting chance in today’s globalized economy.
4. PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT. Food in the U.S. travels an average of 1500 miles to get to your plate. All this shipping uses large amounts of natural resources, contributes greatly to pollution and creates excess trash with extra packaging. Conventional agriculture also uses many more resources than sustainable agriculture and pollutes water, land and air with toxic agricultural byproducts. Food at the farmers’ market is transported shorter distances and grown using methods that minimize the impact on the earth.
5. NOURISH YOURSELF. Much food found in grocery stores in highly processed. In contrast, most food found at the farmers’ market is minimally processed, and many of our farmers go to great lengths to grow the most nutritious produce possible by building their soil’s fertility and giving their crops the nutrients they need to flourish in the ground and nourish those who eat them.
6. DISCOVER VARIETY. At the farmers market you find an amazing array of produce that you don’t see in your supermarket: Asian vegetables, a rainbow of heirloom tomatoes, white peaches, green garlic, watermelon radishes, quail eggs, shitake mushrooms and much, much, more. It is a wonderful opportunity to experience first hand the diversity of our planet, both cultivated and wild.
7. PROMOTE HUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS. At the farmers market, you can find meats, cheeses and eggs from animals that have been raised without hormones or antibiotics, who have grazed on green grass and been fed natural diets, and who have been spared the cramped and unnatural living conditions of so many of their brethren on feedlots.
8. KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD COMES FROM. A regular trip to a farmers market is one of the best ways to reconnect with where you food comes from. Farmers themselves sell their produce at the farm stands. Meeting and talking to farmers is a great opportunity to learn more about how food is grown, when it is grown, and why!
9. LEARN COOKING TIPS, RECIPES AND MEAL IDEAS. Few grocery store cashiers or produce stockers will give you tips on how to cook the ingredients you buy, but farmers, ranchers and vendors at the farmers market are often passionate cooks with plenty of free advice about how to cook the foods they are selling.
10. CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY. Wouldn’t you rather stroll amidst outdoor stalls of fresh produce on a sunny day than roll your cart around a grocery store with artificial lights and piped-in music? The farmers market is a community gathering place—a place to meet up with your friends, bring your children, or just get a taste of small-town life in the midst of your wonderful city.
We hope you'll visit your local farmers' market soon and thank all those hard-working farmers for bringing you the best produce that California has to offer. Visit Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Assn. for a list of all the local farmers market we operate, get great recipes, and read some of the bio's on our farmers.
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