Farmers Markets

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Do you ever shop at farmers markets? If so, what do you tend to purchase? Eggs, meat, poultry, baked goods, plants, jams and jellies?

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Mommyof4
 
I would purchase eggs, vegetables, and different kinds of jelly . I think Farmers Markets are a joy-there is something that borders on the romantic about them.
 
There’s one downtown in my town every Saturday. Ours is good for fresh fruit and veggies. Although they also sell some really nice fresh cut flowers too.
 
We only have Farmers Markets generally from late spring to early fall where I live. But I enjoy the fresh picked fruits, particularly the apples in the fall, and vegetables, and artisan breads.

Hope
 
mommyof4 said:
Do you ever shop at farmers markets? If so, what do you tend to purchase? Eggs, meat, poultry, baked goods, plants, jams and jellies?

Thanks,
Mommyof4
Click to expand...
There’s a farmer’s market every Wednesday about a mile from where I work, and I go there every so often. Usually, I go there because there’s an amazing BBQ guy who has a full smoker there – I just can’t resist the home-made Cajun chicken links :). However, I’ve also found fruit, asparagus and even once a portrait of Our Lady of Guadalupe there.
 
I love farmer’s markets and just went to one yesterday after Mass…a really lovely one by the harbor with lots of boats, sunshine, and a band playing. I typically buy fruit and veggies, but sometimes will splurge and buy some other things (like eggs, cheese, falafel, hummus, honey, olives/olive oil, baked goods, etc). One other thing I like to get is freshly cut flowers. Too often people doen’t treat themselves to nice little things like an inexpensive bouquet. It’s amazing how nice $3 in flowers can be.
 
Thank you for all of your replies so far. We are going to start selling for the first time at our local farmers market, and I’m just trying to “get a feel” for what people are interested in purchasing at the markets. We will start off with eggs, and, in a few weeks, we’ll have fresh poultry, too. The kids and I are pretty good cooks, so we were thinking of doing some baked goods, too. I can whip up a few batches of jelly pretty easily, too.
 
We have a supermarket-style “farmer’s market” nearby where I shop for most of my groceries. It’s farmer-owned and has recently really begun to focus on organic, natural, minimally-processed foods. So in addition to produce I’ll buy free-range jumbo eggs (SO delicious!) for $2 a dozen, rBST-free milk and cream from a dairy in our state, grass-fed beef, pastured pork, free-range whole chickens, and other pantry ingredients.

The more ‘traditional’ farmer’s markets are only operational with lots of local produce here from springtime thru fall, and when we have time to go on the weekends I’ll pick up lots of produce and some other specialty things when they’re available (pots of planted herbs, eggs). Farmer’s markets have great prices, great products, and I love supporting local farmers!
 
I LOVE eggs from farmer’s markets. They taste so much better than store boughten ones.

Our local farmer’s market just started this past weekend and they’re already carrying a bunch of supplies. Herbs, flowers, honey, eggs, veggies, strawberries, pastries, candles, and breads are the main items currently. As the season progresses the stalls get more and more full.

We are also participating in another type of farmer’s market. We signed up to receive a small box of veggies weekly from our local farmer. Every week there will be an assortment of items that were recently harvested. They’ve also made a deal with the local fruit orchards to occasionally give us fruit. We’ll have this every week through November for less than $400 total. It’s a steal!
 
mommyof4 said:
Do you ever shop at farmers markets? If so, what do you tend to purchase? Eggs, meat, poultry, baked goods, plants, jams and jellies?

Thanks,
Mommyof4
Click to expand...
I used to buy the bulk of our food at farm markets, but they are not so abundant here, there are farm stands or fruits stands, but they don’t sell, except for citrus in season and sometimes onions, food grown on a local truck farm, but they get their produce at the same wholesalers the grocery stores use. I like farm markets where you get to know the family farmers and patronize the same people for generations. I grew up shopping the Royal Oak (Mich) Farmers’ market and sometimes the Eastern Market, and then during our years in Cleveland visited the West Side Market at least once a month, Aurora Farms when they still had a farm market, Miles road Market, and purchased meat, chicken and eggs from some Amish families around Burton. And of course everybody has their favorite stand for corn, we went down there near Hale Farm I forget the name. Our other favorite, in Twinsburg OH no longer grows corn, they sold the land for development. so sad. And also up north everybody has their favorite cider mill and apple barn (Yates Mill in Rochester MI was a childhood memory). So anyway, I am spoiled. Anybody in Dayton OH know if MewMaws (sounds like, sp.?) is still around?

I also like dairy stores attached to dairy farms, which are also getting rarer, my favorite was in State College PA. I do miss a real farm market with not only local produce in season (some of which does not even grow here, apples for instance) as well as things like honey from local hives, bedding plants and the like. There is a good market with organic and natural foods in McAllen, but most of the produce is not local. I cannot figure out, with all the cows out on grass here, why somebody local does not market grass fed beef, I bet there is a good and growing market for it.

another thing I miss is locally produced sausage including ethnic varieties, although I think the largest producer of chorizo is here (but I can’t eat it). I would love to buy homemade jams and jellies esp. if I knew where the fruit was grown. Trip down memory lane for all the farm markets I have known and loved. The one on the corner of Wyoga Lake Rd. in Cuyahoga Falls OH was also a favorite, wonder if it is still there.

I also like to see things like homemade quilts and other handcrafts especially around Christmas time, they are also good locales for craft sales. I have been trying to find a local source for free range eggs, but everyone gives up on keeping chickens, I think because of the rapid pace of growth, complaints from neighbors etc. And I would pay more for organic or mostly organic (all but the label, minimal chemicals etc). Another think I miss is local cheese and butter, another reason for nostalgia for the Amish markets in our old town.
 
Before baking items at home to sell, check with the regulations. I know here no home baked goods can be sold at a farmer’s market…only fruits, vegetables, crafts, etc. Any baked or canned foods must be sold only by certified bakeries or processing plants.
 
puzzleannie and others,

For local sources of food of all kinds as well as information about farmers markets, check out localharvest.org. They have TONS of information on different farms, farmer’s markets, CSAs, natural grocery stores, their offerings, and contact information.
 
Rach620 said:
puzzleannie and others,

For local sources of food of all kinds as well as information about farmers markets, check out localharvest.org. They have TONS of information on different farms, farmer’s markets, CSAs, natural grocery stores, their offerings, and contact information.
Click to expand...
thanks this is a great site, but as I suspected, nothing further south than Corpus Christi, 2 hrs away, the ones listed in the Valley are essentially fruit stands, and we have local citrus available 6 months of the year, but most produce is shipped out as soon as it is picked. the two listed are essentially church-run operations that do have regular weekly markets only part of the year, but as yet produce is limited, and they require a membership fee. one is well known for cabrito (goat) the other is also over an hour a way, and has a church link as well, don’t know if there is a membership charge.

but they are a start for the future.
 
Thank you everyone for your relplies. Also, thank you for the link to the local harvest. I was able to find some more local venues, and even called and got some very helpful information from the Chamber of Commerce in one of our local small towns. They suggested I becomre WIC and food stamp certified, so that I can use those vouchers, also. I had not concidered this before. We plan on selling free range eggs, pastured poultry, possibly pastured pork, and lots of extra produce from our garden, and some baked goodies, too. We are able to sell baked items in Iowa, as long as it is not sold for retail purposed (i.e. I can’t sell to the local grocery store for resell). Any other ideas, let me know.
 
I love farmers markets and I enjoy going there with the family. It is also a time for learning when the children begin asking questions about the many items for sale. Not only do I get to teach them but they get the lesson many times from the farmers themselves.
 
We love our various farmers markets. There is one to choose from just about every day in the Portland, OR area.

The value, quality, selection and even price simply can not be beat by any store I have ever been to.

We get:

Berries
Fruits
All sorts of vegetables
Meats
Eggs
Fish
More
 
Farmers Markets? Yes indeed.
Wish we had a daily one here.

Purchases:
Veggies, of course.
Fruits too.
Nuts.

Extra pennies?
Some flowers.
 
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