HEALTH AND WEALTH; The Farmers’ market, your place for healthy bargains.

We’re talking about ways to save money while improving health this week. We’ve covered alternative modes of transportation, better shopping plans and healthier drinking habits. Today, we’re going to talk about an alternative source for your shopping, the local farmers’ market.

What Is It?

A farmers’ market is a place for local producers of food to sell their products. These products usually consist of fruits and vegetables, but can sometimes include items as varied as meats, pastries and breads. My local market has the usual selection of fruits and vegetables, but it also has a stand that sells fresh cheeses, another that sells fresh meat and several that sell baked goods of various kinds.

Where Do You Find It?

Farmers’ markets used to be relatively rare, but as the organic and local food movements grow, farmers markets are expanding in size and number. They can now be found in almost every metropolitan area, as well as some small towns and communities. If you’re looking for a market near you, check out Local Harvest, a site that shows markets in your area. For you readers outside the US, this site is unfortunately US only. However, I’ve been told various countries have their own version of Local Harvest which you may want to look up.

Local Harvest contains information on when and where a market takes place. Most of these markets are only up for one day a week, and are not always a year round affair. I’m lucky to have a year round market near me which occurs every Saturday, but you may want to check the site for your location. Also, Local Harvest contains information on local farms and stores that sell farmers market type product. This is also useful since these stores are just as good as a farmers market. There’s one near me that’s open six days a week and sell fresh produce at farmers market prices.

Why Is It Cheap?

It’s cheap because the farmers and other food producers are selling directly to you. They don’t have to go through a distributor and then a retailer who each want to make a profit. They can sell to you at the same price they would have sold to the distributor and still make a profit. Also, selling at the farmers’ market doesn’t have the high overhead that selling through a store does. There’s no rent, no setup, and usually no sales tax.

Why Is It Healthy?

First, a farmer’s market is healthy because most of the products are fresh fruit and vegetables. So if you’re planning to make a meal of it, it’s hard to come out with too much junk food. Second, produce sold at the market rarely has as much chemicals and preservatives on it as the stuff you find at the local supermarket. Finally, it’s healthy because you get fruit and vegetables that were picked ripe, not too early like most supermarket goods.

It’s a little known fact, but most fruit and vegetables you find at the supermarket were picked before their time. That’s because ripe produce spoils quickly and would not last through the multi day trip to the supermarket. At the farmers’ market, the food that you buy was usually picked that day or perhaps the day before. It’s literally right off the tree. In fact, many farmers will do their normal picking to send to the distributor and then take the ripe stuff and sell it at the farmers’ market. They need to sell this stuff quickly or else it will spoil, so they sell it cheap. So you get fresh produce, that was picked ripe, at low prices. Since produce that was allowed to ripen naturally usually has more vitamins, you get a meal that healthier and cheaper.

What To Do?

Find your local farmers’ market or store that sells local produce - You can use Local Harvest for this or you can go online and search. Many cities will now list markets on their official sites.

Make a shopping plan - It’s a bit harder to make a detailed shopping plan before going to a farmers’ market because the food selection may change from week to week, but give it a shot. Have at least a good idea of what you’ll buy before going.

Walk if possible - We’ve already talked about this. Walking is good exercise and will limit your carrying capacity, eliminating the temptation to overbuy.

Compare - Go from stall to stall. You’ll usually find the same food at multiple stalls. Compare prices and quality.

Prepare - Prepare a meal from just the stuff you bought at the market. It doesn’t even have to be a very complex meal. Last week, my lunch consisted of:

• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Onion
• Cheese
• Orange for dessert.

All bought at the market. Every single one of these items was fresh, cheap and high quality. Total money spent was around 4 dollars, and most of that was the cheese which I didn’t finish and so took home. I also ended up with some fresh strawberries, fajitas and mangos. As you get to know your market, you’ll have a better idea of what’s available and when. You’ll also start getting to know the vendors who might give you a better bargain. You may even want to make a social event out of it. Get a friend or two and walk down to the local market. Each person can find the items they want to eat for lunch, then you can all find a place to sit down and munch on your fresh goods.

For an extra challenge, how about making your dinner that day solely from items you bought at the market?

Additional Benefits

By the way, shopping at farmers’ market and stores that sell local produce has two other benefits. First, you’re supporting the local economy. These products are from farmers and producers in your neighborhood, not three countries away. Second, you’re being environmentally conscious. Goods sold at these places are usually organically grown and travel less distance to get to you, so they waste less energy.

Summary

Your local farmers’ market can be a fun social activity that can get you a healthy meal at a cheap price while you support local businesses and protect the environment. Sounds like a perfect option to me.

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