By choosing to shop at the farmers market you help support local farmers, protect the health of the environment and most importantly eat really good, quality food.
With large agribusiness dominating food production in the United States, small family farmers have a hard time earning a living in the food marketplace. Buying directly from farmers gives them a better return for their produce and helps them succeed in today’s globalized economy. You play an important role in ensuring that local farmers can continue farming for the community.
Food at the farmers market comes and goes with the season, and for this reason it is always fresh and delicious. By eating with the season you reconnect with the cycle of nature in your region. It can help bring back our awareness of the earth, the weather and the turning of the seasons as you anticipate asparagus in the spring, savor ripe tomatoes in summer and bake with winter squash in the fall.
The fruits and vegetables available at the market are the freshest and tastiest available. The food is real and fresh from the farm, sometimes picked as early as that same morning. There is no long-distance shipping, no chemicals to simulate the ripening process and no sitting for weeks in storage.
Shopping at the farmers market is by far the best way to connect with where your food comes from. Meeting and talking to food artisans and farmers is a rare opportunity to learn more about how and where the food is produced. You’re also likely to learn different cooking tips and recipes since many of the farmers at market are passionate cooks of the food they produce.
Much of the food found in conventional grocery stores are highly processed. Some of it has been irradiated, waxed or gassed in transit. These practices are shown to have negative effects on human health. In contrast, most food at the farmers market is minimally processed and many farmers put in the extra effort to grow the most nutritious produce possible using sustainable techniques, harvesting right before market and growing heirloom varieties.
Another benefit to shopping at the farmers market is the amazing variety of produce you won’t find in the normal supermarket. Produce like red carrots, shiitake mushrooms and heirloom tomatoes gives you a chance to enjoy the biodiversity of our region.
Food in the United States travels an average of 1500 miles to get to your plate. This requires large amounts of natural resources, contributes to pollution and generates trash with excessive packaging. Local farmers transport their food shorter distances and generally grow with methods that minimize impact on the environment.
The farmers market is a great place to meet up with friends, bring your children or get a taste of small-town life. Supporting your local farmers market grows your community and turns shopping into a pleasure rather than a chore. Meet your farmers, learn about foods in the area, catch up with friend and get your children involved!
At the farmers market you can find meats, cheeses and eggs from animals raised without hormones or antibiotics, who have grazed on green pasture and enjoyed natural lives, and have lived free from the unnatural living conditions of feedlots and cages characteristic of large scale agriculture.
Shopping at the farmers market helps to build a local economy made of real people you know. Instead of supporting large corporations based in other cities, states or countries, food from the farmers market travels through fewer hands so more of the money goes to the people growing it. You can make an important economic impact by buying from producers who practice social and environmental justice with their business.
