If this is what you think of when you think of farmers
markets…
…you are only partially right. I have some breaking news for
you though; farmers markets aren’t just for hippies anymore! Regular people go
to them as well! To some people, farmers markets might be a little intimidating
because it is a different experience than shopping at your local grocery store.
Fear not though, I have decided to enlighten you all on farmers markets for this
weeks blog!
What is a farmers
market?
In simple terms, a farmers market is a place where farmers
sell their products directly to consumers. (Note: I said consumers not just hippies,
but more on that later) At this point you might be envisioning a good ole boy
farmer in a plaid shirt and overhauls with a straw hat on talking to you about
his tomatoes and cows, but this is usually not the case. Given the explosion of
local food business, its not just farmers selling their tomatoes or beef. Yes, there are
obviously a lot of fruits and veggies to be found at farmers markets, but you
can also find meat, poultry, eggs, cheese, jams, butter, peanut butter, salsa,
mustard, honey, baked goods, pasta, ice cream, flowers, etc.
Along with this increased variety of products, you will also
find that sometimes the produce vendors are not the growers, but retailers.
(Read: The people do not grow the fruits and veggies, they buy them and then
resell them at the market). Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily but it can be a little tricky. Occasionally,
the vendor will sell items that are not local, so if you want to ensure the
food you get is local just ask them or look for signage indicating such. One
easy way to spot a retailer is if they are selling items, such as pineapple and bananas, which do not grow in
North Carolina or pretty much all other US states for that matter, they require
a tropical environment to grow.
Why should I go to a
farmers market?
Obviously to see the hippies and earn some hipster street
cred! On a more serious note, by shopping at the farmers markets it helps
support the local economy and not some huge factory farm in Mexico. Another
reason is because the products are fresher and taste better; they weren’t grown
in Mexico, shipped to the US, and sitting on a grocery store shelf for weeks. Case
in point: tomatoes. You will only find tomatoes grown in North Carolina during
the summer when they reach their peek ripeness. Typically, the produce is
harvested a day or so before it is sold at the market and ends up on your
table. Compare that to tomatoes found at grocery stores. To start with, they
are picked before they are ripe so they are able to hold up from the journey to
the field to the grocery store. This inhibits some of the flavor, vitamins, and
minerals from fully developing. They than go through a ripening process that
forces them to ripen, but it only really turns the green tomatoes red. Local tomatoes and grocery store tomatoes may look the same
and all but the taste is night and day.
The last reason I will talk about as to why its beneficial
to shop at farmers markets is that it is more environmentally friendly. Without
getting on a soapbox on this one, there is less gas used to transport the
products and carbon dioxide emissions and less packaging.
If you got bored halfway through reading the above section
and skipped down to the picture, just check out the infographic below for a brief
synopsis.
“You keep saying
local, but what is local?”
This is where it gets a little ambiguous. There is no set
definition of local. Some people say 100 miles, 300 miles, etc. Not that my
thoughts rein supreme, in the case of Charlotte I would count local as anything
grown in North or South Carolina since a lot of South Carolina farms are
actually closer to Charlotte than some North Carolina ones.
“I went to the
farmers market and there were no strawberries”
Well, I hate to break it to you but strawberries have a
relatively short growing season that lasts from April till about late June. Yes, they may be available at the grocery store year round, but strawberries do not grow year ground in North Carolina. All crops have
a season, so if you are not familiar with what’s in season for North Carolina,
you might want to check out this
chart so you are not the goof asking the
farmer where the watermelons are in February.
“Should I be eating
all local food?”
Is Lebron the next Michael Jordan? No!
Personally, I enjoy bananas, pineapple, coffee, etc and none
of them are local. I try my best to hit up the farmers markets and grow some of
my own vegetables. I may be a Dietitian but I am still human.
While I have the opportunity, just a PSA. Yes, you can find
cookies, muffins, cupcakes, all other sorts of baked goods at farmers markets,
but keep in mind that a cookie is still a cookie regardless of where it was
made. Yes, it make taste better, but unfortunately it is not any healthier.
Breaking it Down
If this if your reaction to farmers markets...
I would suggest you give it a shot to check it out. Not sure where the closest farmers market is?
No worries, I got you. Check out this list of farmers markets in the
Charlotte area.
My second suggestion would be this: Its one thing to go to
the farmers market and buy all kinds of fruits and vegetables in your fancy
reusable bag, but note that it doesn’t do you any actual good unless you eat
them.
If you go check out a farmers market and find that its not
your thing, at the very least you might get to listen to some of that “hippy”
music and earn some hipster street cred. Well I am off to go stock up on local water at the farmers market. Until next time!
Keep it Fresh,
Keep it Green,
Beth
