Most farmer’s markets are only open one day a week and sell locally grown food in season. Depending on the market size, some will sell locally-sourced meats, seafood, eggs, dairy products, and grains. Buying from local farmers and at farmer’s markets is good for our health, our community of farmers, and the environment.
It works out well for everyone involved. Over the past few years, more people have been going to farmers’ markets and buying food directly from farmers. People are also paying more attention to where their food comes from. Here are the nine most common reasons why people love farmer’s markets.
Knowing Where Your Food Comes From
You can learn more about your food than anywhere else at a farmer’s market. At a market, you can meet and talk to the farmers who grew the food you’re buying. You can find out how the food you buy is made, where it comes from, and much more.
The market’s atmosphere is also great for teaching kids where their food comes from and giving them a chance to meet the families who grow our food.
Discover new foods
Most supermarkets don’t have as many different fruits and vegetables as farmer’s markets. This makes it more likely that you will find new and exciting foods while shopping at a farmer’s market. You’ll always find something new at your local farmer’s market, whether you’re looking at the food or talking to the farmers and other people there.
A sense of community
The sense of community that comes with shopping at my local farmers’ market is the main reason many people go there. You see, hear, and smell many different things on the way to the market. Guitars are being played, or a fiddler is singing a Cape Breton song as people talk and laugh in many different languages.
You’ll almost always run into a neighbor or friend at the market, and greeting and talking with them is more personal than you’d do on the sidewalk.
Nutrient-packed produce.
You can find the freshest food at farmer’s markets. Fruits and vegetables at farmer’s markets are grown until they are perfectly ripe because they will only be sold down the road, sometimes just hours after being picked. Locally grown food tends to have more protein, vitamins, and minerals than food from the grocery store or supermarket. This means that it is healthier and of higher quality.
Support Local Farmers
When you buy food from your local farmers’ market, you are helping the local economy and family farms.
For some smaller farmers, this typically means having more money in their pockets, which can support a family farm’s survival and expansion in an industry where fewer small, local farms are collapsing due to economic and societal pressures.
Some vendors have said that locals’ participation in the market has created up to five jobs.
Shop Organic
Most of the vendors at farmer’s markets grow their organic food. In addition to being fresh, organic vendors’ food is free of synthetic pesticides and hasn’t been processed.
On the other hand, a lot of the food in grocery stores and supermarkets has been heavily processed and grown using hormones, pesticides, and other chemicals.
Many farmers who sell at farmer’s markets are committed to taking the extra steps to grow the healthiest, most nutritious food they can using sustainable organic methods.
Get outside
Many farmer’s markets are outside, so you can enjoy the weather while you shop for food. It’s better than being stuck in a store for an hour!
Just bring your duffle bag and reusable produce bags, and get ready to fill them with fresh produce. Feel the fresh air and get that sense of fulfillment as you shop outdoors. Leaving your house and walking to the farmer’s market is excellent exercise too!
Sharing of information and expanding knowledge
Local markets can help you learn more about food and cooking and inspire you to try new things in the kitchen. Whether it’s local rhubarb, brussels sprouts, a cut of meat you haven’t tried before, or something like dragon fruit or plantain.
Even conversations with other shoppers can teach you new skills and information you can try out in your kitchen. The farmers at the market can also teach you new farming skills and give you excellent gardening tips if you plan on starting your own backyard garden.
Enjoy market events
Farmers’ markets are being increasingly used in menu planning and catering for events and meetings. But local produce bazaars are more than just places to get fresh food.
They also represent sustainability and community, ideas many organizers want to connect with their brands.
As you attend that event at your local farmer’s market, you get to enjoy meat and dairy, tasty brunch, hot and cold drinks, beautiful gifts, and some of the best free live music.