Buying produce at a supermarket is a crazy alternative
We had visitors coming for dinner on Saturday night, so in the morning, we decided to go to the markets to get some fresh produce. Normally we would have gone to the supermarket but these are friends who like their food, so this time we decided to go to the Farmer?s Market.
As we entered the Capital Region Farmer?s Market, we were swept up in the experience. This market is run by one of the local Rotary Clubs and the place was a buzz with activity.
This was done well? really well. Apart from the giant farmer and the guy in the cherry suit, the first thing I became aware of was the friendly banter. Like a true farmers market should be, all of the stallholders are the people who grow or make the produce, and many of the customers are regulars, so there is a real community atmosphere as customers and sellers chat.
There is an honest, wholesome feel about the whole experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed going to a supermarket.
Where we live we have three choices; buy from the supermarket, buy from the daily markets (second best alternative), or go to one of these farmer?s markets, where you can talk with the person who actually produces the stuff.
How fresh is the food you buy?
It occurred to me that in today?s world, most people don?t even know if the fruit and vegetables they are buying are in season or not. If you buy from a farmer?s market, you know it is in season and you know it is fresh.
Our farmer?s markets are on every a Saturday morning, and this is definitely the way to go for me from now on. Buggered if I?m going to buy fruit and vegetables in a sterile retail environment where I even have to weigh and scan the stuff myself. Not when the alternative is to talk to the guy who picked it the day before.
More of my photos of the Capital Region Farmer’s Market on Picasa