North Star Orchard

A farm is not an island. Well, it could be on an island. It could even own an island. Mmmm…farming on a tropical island sounds mighty nice. I’ll have to think more on that…

But what I mean here is that a farm is not an entity unto itself; it depends on the support of many others. The obvious others? The farm owners, our farm helpers, customers, and CSA members. The not-so-obvious others are the business and individuals without which the farm could not function and, well, grow.

For us there’s any number of important support others. This is like the list of credits at the end of a movie. Most people know they’re there, but they don’t really watch them. For those few of you who might be watching, here’s some of the business/people in our ‘credits’:

Stoltzfus Farm Service
Anderson Truck and Auto
Radbill Automotive
One Village Coffee
Perk
Chester County Crop Care
Nolt’s Produce Supply
Rainflo Irrigation
Bauman Family Apple Butter
Tie Dye Guru
Google
Constant Contact
Veni Vortex
Siteground
Credo Mobile
Phil Brown Welding
Kubota
Giant
Turkey Hill
Inverbrook Farm
Pennypack Farm
Charlestown Farm
Quiet Creek Farm
CCEDC (w/ Suzanne Milshaw)
Farmers’ Markets: West Chester, Phoenixville, Oakmont, Headhouse, Clark Park, Emmaus, Upper Merion – and all the people who work hard to make those markets happen.
…and more

Who’s on YOUR list of credits?

(Jay helps out part-time every year.)

Background: I’ve been homeschooled all my life, which has given me a great chance to really follow my interests during all the times at public schools which are wasted (role call, travel [on the bus and between classes], dealing with loud/obnoxious kids, etc.). Thanks to having a more flexible schedule, I have more time to really focus on what I want to do. Right now, that is web programming and other computer science topics.

Why are you working at North Star Orchard? Well, the most obvious thing, maybe, is that it is a very convenient place for me to work, since I live right there. I’ve grown up with the farm, so I think my personality has really been influenced by the work I’ve been doing… rather than coming in to work with preconceived notions of what I do and don’t like, what I like doing, and by extension why I’m working at North Star, are based on my work experiences. Finally, I can’t deny that it’s nice to have a seasonal source of income.

What do you want to do when you grow up? At this point I’m looking towards following some sort of programming, Internet, or other computer-y type path. I haven’t quite settled on just where in that (admittedly vast) field I want to go into, but I’m hoping that the computer science class I’m taking at the Chester County Technical College High School will help me more firmly solidify the details.

Least favorite farm job: Moving all the 40+ pound crates of fruit out of a small box truck in a space of an hour or two. Those things are heavy.

Favorite farm job: Talking to customers at farmers’ markets. Market-goers tend to be really friendly, and it’s been great getting to know some of our customers.

Favorite vegetable/ fruit: Apples. There’s just so much variety!

Favorite flavor of ice cream: Chocolate chip cookie dough. Not real healthy, but even farmers need to give in sometimes.

Most CSAs in this area offer vegetables, but there are also a few which offer meat, eggs, cheese, and fruit. I’ve even heard of a grain CSA, although that’s nowhere near us.

In the midst of CSA signups this spring, I received an email from a member stating that he’d like the “I Can Control Mother Nature” Share. Well, that statement gave me the chuckle I’m sure it was intended to give.

But what a concept, eh? The “I Can Control Mother Nature” Share would see us all getting exactly what we wanted when we wanted it. No worries about spring frosts, hail, or droughts. No concerns at all about biennial bearing issues. Taken to the extreme, it could mean getting Asian pears or heirloom tomatoes all year long….wow!

In many ways, that sounds like a mighty good idea. I can conceive of gorging myself on gage-type plums, nectarines, and Gold Rush apples day after day, year-in and year-out. For veggies, it would mean Swiss chard daily. I’m as addicted to each of those as I am to coffee.

My coffee addiction I can feed every day, usually with the same brand, although I do try new ones from time to time; they’re always Fair Trade certified and/or locally roasted. I’m currently SO into One Village Coffee, which I purchase at the Upper Merion Farmers’ Market, that I’m trying to figure the best way to source it over winter when market is done. I look forward to those two (or three) cups a day (morning and mid-afternoon) not only to feed my caffeine addiction, but as a comfort-food type of thing.

It’s kind of the same feeling I get when I eat some of those favorite fruits of mine, or eating my ‘green of the day’ (either kale, Swiss chard, arugula, mustard greens, or spinach). To me, they not only taste good, but they act as comfort foods to my soul. (Hey, better having mustard greens than Twinkies as a comfort food!)

But while the “I Can Control Mother Nature” Share sounds mighty appealing, I think I would tire of it. Part of the delight of eating locally-grown foods is the variety and the somewhat limited supply. It’s the surprise you get when the nectarine you just bit into is so gosh-darned sweet, juicy, and flavorful it hurts your brain….only to find out that the next one you bite into is even (impossibly!) better. It’s the first bite of a Hosui Asian pear of the year, when you realize that you absolutely forgot just how freakin’ good they are, because it’s been 10 months since you last had one. It’s digging into a plate of Swiss Chard that is so flavorful and addictive you’d swear the plant had been injected with MSG.

Sure, it would be great to be able to eat all of your favorites all of the time. But the ‘wow’ moments would wane. You wouldn’t experience that anticipation of waiting for the start of November because you know that’s when the Gold Rush apples would be coming on. Summer might not seem quite so fantastic if you could eat heirloom tomatoes and local sweet corn all year long. While I look forward to my routine two (or three!) cups of coffee a day, they don’t give me that sense of anticipation and sheer joy that eating seasonal food does.

As a farmer, I would certainly enjoy the “I Can Control Mother Nature” concept in many ways (the ability to turn off hail or hot weather would be a blessing). But as an eater, I’d like to keep things just the way they are!

How to pick a peach depends upon who’s picking it: the commercial farmer, the grocery store shopper, the local small farmer, and the farmers’ market shopper. Let’s look at all of them!

The Commercial Farmer: By this, I mean the big mega orchard grower (growing hundreds or even thousands of acres of peach trees!), who wholesales most, if not all of his production. Typically, this grower will pick on a calendar schedule, regardless how not-ripe the peaches are. His goal is to pick a peach which is hard enough to withstand not only shipping over long distances (across country or into a different country altogether) but also can hold up to bouncing around in trucks, ships, and planes for several weeks to a month before it is selected by a customer (usually at a grocery store). To make things easier for this grower, fruit breeders have bred for more and more red skin color on peaches. (By breeding, I don’t mean genetic tomfoolery but good old-fashioned sexual propagation between two peach trees). In heirloom or old traditional varieties of peaches, the little bit of red blush they developed was a sign of ripeness. So, as people grew to equate ‘red’ with ‘ripe’ on a peach, fruit breeders did their darndest to breed peaches that were as red as possible before ripening. To this end, we now have countless varieties of peaches that are practically all red, with little yellow (or white, in the case of white peaches) showing way before when they are truly ripe and ready to be picked. This suits the big mega peach farmer quite well, so he picks when the red color is there and ships them off.

The Grocery Store Shopper: This may have been you at one point or another (it was certainly me many years ago!). You go into a grocery store where they have, piled in tall pyramids of red color, heaps of lovely-looking peaches. Perhaps they’re labeled tree-ripened or local. Perhaps they’re just labeled with a price. Regardless, they look so lovely you just have to take some home. The question next is how to get those rock-hard beauties to soften up? This is where the “ripen in a paper bag” notion came in. As commercial (ie. the aforementioned red-before-they’re-ready) peaches came to the forefront, it became obvious that it was difficult to get the danged things to soften up at home. Fruit gives off ethylene gas, which is a ripening agent. So, by placing the peaches in a paper bag, the notion is the gases will be trapped in the bag and hasten ripening. Problem is, when peaches are picked way-too-early, they essentially die and cannot give off ethylene in the first place. Additionally, since they’ve been shipped and stored in refrigerators for weeks-on-end, any potential flavor components are essentially shot. So, oftentimes those grocery store peaches end up either never softening up properly or they’re mealy or end up moldy before they are eatable. As I always say, just as with grocery store tomatoes…just say NO to grocery store peaches! There’s no point in wasting your money.

The Local Small Farmer: A small farmer (like us!) who sells all (or most, depending on the farm) of their peaches directly to the customer, has a lot more work to do, actually, than the big mega-farmer, in order to pick peaches. For those like us, we want to make sure the peaches are ripe enough that they’ll develop the proper juicy texture and luscious flavors. But in order to do this, we can’t just pick based on red color. We have to look at the ‘undercolor’ of the peach, which can vary from white to brilliant orange depending on the variety. We also have to do some taste-testing (a nice perk of growing fruit, although there really can be too much of a good thing sometimes!). Each and every variety is different in appearance, ripening time, color and undercolor, and flavor, so picking at the optimal time can take several years of learning, evaluating, and note-taking. We also like to make sure that peaches don’t end up already bruised at the farmers’ market or CSA share, so we have to figure out when the optimal time is to pick them that they only have two or three days to go before they’re perfectly juicy and delicious. We have to ‘spot pick’ each tree about 3 times, picking the peaches as they mature instead of all at once. And then we have to get them into the hands of the people who will eat them in fairly short order. Whew!

The Farmers’ Market Shopper: When you shop at a farmers’ market for a peach (remember, you’ve said NO to grocery store peaches!), usually all you need to do is decide which peach to get. If you are buying from a reputable orchardist, the hard part (as mentioned above) has been done for you. Your job is to decide: white or yellow? (whites tend to be sweeter; yellows tend to be ‘peachier’) Peach or nectarine? (nectarines are essentially peaches without fuzz…so give them a try – but not from the grocery store!), large or small fruits (although size doesn’t necessarily matter. Some varieties are genetically smaller and some are larger). If there are several varieties available for sale…which to choose? Most small growers raise many kinds of peaches. Each variety ripens over 7 to 10 days and then the next variety comes into rotation. While many growers just lump them altogether as ‘peaches’, some (like us) like to keep each variety separate and named. Oftentimes, most peaches taste very similar (which is why many growers just lump them together), but sometimes there are standout varieties. So, which to choose? Just ask which one we like the best. You might often get a “well, they’re all pretty much the same and yummy”, but some weeks there will be a definite favorite. Then, just take them home and set them on the counter for a day or two or three (NOT in a bag!). Give them the ‘squeeze’ test. When soft to your liking, grab a napkin and enjoy!

Here we’ll continue to think about the perception of higher prices at the farmers’ market by considering some social justice issues: fairness to farm workers and environmental costs.

“The average American farmer receives about 20 cents of every dollar spent on food. But when customers buy directly from the farm, the farmer gets the whole dollar.” -John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri

There are many people who think prices at a farmers’ market should be less than those at a grocery store. And why is that? After all, the farmer at a farmers’ market (or CSA) is acting as not only the farmer, but also as the middleman and the retailer. That farmer has costs associated with growing, packing, shipping (even if it is just to the neighboring town), and marketing his product, and must employ (or secondarily employ) any number of helpers to make that all happen – from the college students who help weed in the summer, to the manufacturer he buys his bags and marketing equipment from, to the farmers’ market helpers who help with retail sales. So, many of all those ‘extra’ pennies in the dollar get used up in one way or another. Asking a farmer to sell at less than grocery store prices just isn’t fair.

Not to mention that grocery store prices, as discussed in Part 1 (produce) and Part 2 (meat/cheeses) of this series, are reflective of a factory-style method of farming, which just does not produce the same healthy fresh food you can buy locally.

To produce the cheap food we are accustomed to, it often means that the commodity- or factory- style farmer is being paid very little for his efforts. One might argue that some farm families put up with that for the farming “lifestyle”. But what “lifestyle” is there to a farming family who cannot afford ANY health insurance? Or savings for retirement?

Those low prices trickle down to the agricultural workers in general. Big mega-farms (both conventional and organic), rely on low-wage workers in order to grow the cheap food Americans want. Middlin’-sized farms also rely on cheap migrant laborers, both legal and illegal, to keep prices low. Small diversified farms often struggle greatly to pay reasonable wages or may rely heavily on cheap intern laborers and volunteers to keep prices as low as possible.

Until just recently, there were NO minimum wage requirements for agriculture. As it stands now, small farms are exempt from minimum wage requirements. Large farms, while legally required to pay minimum wage, often employ illegal immigrants, to whom they can pay any little amount they wish. Because, of course, to whom would illegal immigrants complain?

Due to the strength of the agricultural lobbyists, there are still NO federal requirements that farms pay workers more for overtime, as there are for all other types of work. There are even 15 states that do not require farms to carry workers’ compensation insurance. So, an on-the-job injury to a farmworker leaves that worker without any help other than his own means of securing it. Keep in mind that farming is consistently listed as one of America’s top ten most dangerous jobs.

There are not many Americans willing to take on work such as that, so many farms employ migrants in droves. (This is not just in California or Arizona, folks, but nearby in New Jersey and here in good ol’ PA.)

Paying higher prices at the farmers’ market (or CSA) means that farmer just might be able to pay his help a little better. Just might be able to offer (gasp!) health insurance to fulltime employees. Just might be able to save for retirement. There are a lot of mights involved to make that all happen.

For more information, read:
- about Stephen Colbert’s challenge (in association with farm workers): Come on, take our jobs. (Watch the show airing July 8th)
- ‘Slowed Food Revolution‘ – explaining about the increased demand for organic food but the lack of support for the people who grow it.

And the environmental costs?

I’m not sure I really need to delve into that too greatly. You may have, through news reports or magazine articles, heard of some of the environmental costs associated with:

-Monocropping (acres and acres of a single crop, and its associated problems)
-Reliance on petrochemicals for crop protection and fertilization
-Relying on more and more mega farms in areas that are already water-stressed to the breaking point
-Concentrated Animal Finishing Operations (CAFOs) and other animal-intensive operations (even your local dairy farm), which usually produce a truly horrifying amount of waste product. Said product goes on to poison soil, streams, nearby fields (that’s where most of the e. coli scares in produce have started – at CAFOs), etc.

I could go on, but that’s enough for the moment. Rachel Carson (Silent Spring) was a whistle-blower, back in the early 60s, about the effects of commercial farming on the environment. If you haven’t actually read the book, I recommend you do; it’s still a good read. Some people listened, put up a fight, and worked to ban DDT and other chemicals.

Big corporations and big agriculture have lots of money and power in Congress (just like big Wall Street!). It is up to us, as eaters, to put up a fight against them and try to make our voices heard. We all want safe food which is grown in a sustainable manner (the 3 Ps: people – planet – profit). The growth of the Local Foods Movement is just starting to make those wishes known. Please continue to vote with your fork by shopping for sustainably grown food, and encourage your friends, neighbors, family, and coworkers to do likewise.

And what about the prices at the farmers’ market? Indeed…what about them? Little changes make a huge difference in everyone’s budget. Give up a latte or two a week in order to buy good food. Buy a bag of potatoes instead of a bag of potato chips. Grow a tomato plant or two on your deck so you can feed your craving. Food is one of the most important things in our lives; surely a little adjustment in our regular behavior is worth it to make sure we can feed ourselves healthy food, protect the planet, and make sure the lives of farm workers are meaningful.

Here we’ll continue to think about the perception of higher prices at the farmers’ market by considering the prices of meats and cheeses.

As in part 1 (about produce prices), I turned spy and sleuthed the products available at some grocery stores nearby. This was a rather difficult process. Firstly, as I haven’t bought meat at a store in over a dozen years, I had no idea what was available or not. Secondly, the meat items available at a farmers’ market often had no counterpoint at regular grocery stores to even compare them with.

Here’s what I found:

There were no organic OR sustainably-raised meats available at either Giant or Walmart. (although there were plenty of Saniwipe stations – which were definitely new since I last shopped for meat so long ago!)

At Giant: ‘Nature’s Promise’ boneless/skinless chicken breast was $5.49lb. (label read: all natural, no antibiotics, all-vegetarian diet, no growth stimulants or hormones) Regular meats (ie. not the Nature’s Promise brand): ground turkey $4.99lb. (label read: minimally processed, no artificial ingredients), split chicken breasts $2.89 (reading: fresh, all-natural, no hormones or steroids added)

At Walmart: organic eggs were $4.09 dozen (and those eggs were the only organic-labeled product I could find in the meat or egg case at either Walmart or Giant).

Now here, I agree: meats, cheeses, and eggs do cost more at the farmers market. The same chicken products I mentioned above are close to twice the price at the farmers’ market, although organic eggs are only $3.50 and ground turkey is only 50 cents a pound more. But really, how can we compare these prices at all? At the regular stores I went to, I couldn’t find organic, pasture-raised meat of any kind, which actually rather surprised me.

However, the euphemisms the meat industry is now using to make you feel good about grocery store meats were in abundance. But, they really don’t mean much of anything. Let’s consider some of the words on the labels I looked at:

“All natural” means nothing. There is no legal definition for the word. So, all that “all natural” meat means is, I guess, it came from an animal. It says nothing about how the animal was raised or what it was fed.

“All-vegetarian diet” means, presumably, that the animal was not fed any meat by-products. Which, in the case of cows, is a good thing, as they are herbivores (plant eaters). However, “all-vegetarian diet” doesn’t mean that the animal was fed what its body was built to eat. It may have been fed a high ration of GMO corn, rather than grass. And eating so much corn, by the way, is what makes cows sick and therefore they are given antibiotics to keep them going until slaughter.

“Minimally processed” also means absolutely nothing, legally. The food industry, at this time, can stamp that on anything they want to. But it’s supposed to make you feel good somehow. On closer inspection however, you may find that the meat was indeed injected with water or flavorings. “Minimally processed” is in the eyes of the beholder, and the industry is figuring you’ll think the best of the term.

“Grass fed” beef at a grocery store may indeed be grass-fed beef….but that does not mean the cows were out on the range grazing. They may have been in a space with many, many other cows and given hay bales to eat. Remember: to feed our desire for meat, a lot of it has to be produced. And there is no way to produce the quantity ‘we’ want at the price ‘we’ want it without using some sort of factory-style farming. Come to think of it, “grass fed” on a label could mean that the cow did indeed have some hay, but also had a huge ration of corn, which again, it is not able to properly digest.

Remember also, if you should happen to find certified organic meat in a store (likely a more high-end store like Whole Foods) that when ‘factory farms’ or ‘CAFOs’ claim to be certified organic, it does not necessarily mean that the meat was out in a natural environment for most of its life. Organic CAFO chicken farms legally have to provide yard space for the chickens, but access is often just a chicken-sized door opening out onto a tiny dirt-floor fenced-in yard, where few of the chickens ever, ever venture.

When you pay ‘more’ for your chicken, beef, cheese, and eggs from a local farmer, in most cases you are supporting a farmer whose animals truly do graze in a pasture, and who rarely are crowded in tiny spaces. But for a farmer to do that requires a lot of effort and land. It takes a lot of time to rotate herds from one field to another or collect and wash eggs by hand. It takes more land, obviously, to allow a herd or a flock to graze and do other normal animal-ly things (including reproducing in the old-fashioned way rather than by artificial insemination!). But land (and land management) is not cheap, and that counts for something in the price you pay at a farmers’ market. (Versus the confined chicken facility where they can raise thousands of birds in a small building).

You need to read labels, think about what particular words actually do and don’t mean, and ask questions that get to the heart of the issue. Asking questions at the grocery store is rather difficult, but study those packages and think about what the words mean. In many cases, they don’t legally mean a thing. At the farmers’ market, ask the meat/cheese farmer questions. Many are not certified organic, but they’ll tell you about how they raise their animals if you ask. They are proud of their products and take pride in the way they raise their animals. I am not an animal farmer, so I’m sure they’ll have a lot more info and answers regarding this issue than I have! Unless there are a lot of folks in line, most farmers are more than willing to answer your questions.

Although I didn’t study cheese prices at the store vs. farmers’ markets, certainly many of the same issues apply. Remember, a local cheesemaker is usually, first and foremost, an expert in animal husbandry. (BTW, one person who commented on the Part 1 post (produce) said she has found local specialty cheeses to be a bargain compared to store specialty cheeses)

What you’re paying for at the farmers’ market, in most cases, is meat/cheese/eggs from healthier and happier animals, which in turn usually taste better, are better for you nutritionally, and are better for the environment. You’re paying for the health of the land those animals are raised on, versus the veritable toxicity that comes along with CAFO operations.

You get what you pay for.

Remember, we’re eating way more meat now than we were just 25 years ago. Cut down on the consumption a little and buy what’s good for you, the animals, the farmer, and the planet.

(For more graphic arguments on this issue, watch Food, Inc. or Earthlings, both available via Netflix. Caution: Earthlings is so astoundingly graphic, I couldn’t get through it – so don’t show it to the kids. Food, Inc. on the other hand, should be viewed by anyone who eats!)

Stay tuned for part 3: Social justice (the human price)

Read part 1: Produce

There is a notion out there that prices at the farmers’ markets are higher than those in the grocery store. I was made aware of this a couple months ago when I was the guest speaker for a “Buying Local” class. Quite frankly, the notion that there are such classes nowadays sends a thrill through me. Absolutely fantastic!

One of the class members said she tries to encourage her friends to shop at the farmers’ market, but often is rebuffed with the “it’s too expensive” notion.

So, I’d like to address this issue in a three-part series, which will hopefully give you some food for thought (!?!) about farmers’ markets prices, which you can then use as arguments to sway your friends who say “But the farmers’ market is too expensive.” The subjects? Produce prices, meat/cheese prices, and social justice (the human price).

For today, let’s talk produce. I actually went out with pen and paper and did a little sleuthing at a couple of grocery stores. I felt like a spy, really, and was taking my notes very surreptitiously, lest a store manager demand what I was up to. Here’s what I found:

At Genaurdi’s: tomatoes $3.99lb.(from Mexico), apples $1.99lb (except for Red Delicious, which were dirt cheap as most people won’t buy them). Most of the produce I saw there were at prices more or less like market prices, but the quality was generally inferior. Some items in the store were priced higher, like colored peppers at $3.99 (and those tomatoes).

At Giant: peppers 3.99lb., beans 2.99lb., tomatoes 3.99 (Mexico and ‘product of USA) mixed greens were between 7.38 and $11.81 per pound, depending on mix and company. Apples $1.99lb. for Golden Delicious, Red Delicious (go figure), and Granny Smith, and $2.49 lb. for ‘premium’ varieties like Fuji, Braeburn, etc.

At many farmers’ markets, tomatoes average about $2.50 a pound. Sometimes you’ll find them for less in the height of the season, and sometimes you’ll find them for more ($4.00lb.) for certified organic growers’ heirlooms. Apples tend to range from $1.50 to $2.00 a pound. Many veggies are less than grocery store prices: colored sweet peppers for $2.50 a pound or less, salad mixes for $7 or $8 a pound.

So….why do some people have a notion that produce is more expensive at the farmers’ market? I think it’s simple: there is a big disconnect between selecting and paying for produce in the grocery store which blinds folks as to what they’re actually paying. It’s a much different thing to pick out a few apples, put them in your cart, and then not even notice how much they are at checkout because you’re busy loading things onto the belt or packing your bags. On the other hand, at the farmers’ market, you pick out apples (or whatever) and pay for them right away – so sometimes ‘sticker shock’ ensues. But think about it: last year’s $3.99 (for real!!) a pound grocery-store Honeycrisp apples actually cost twice as much as those at the farmers’ market – but you just don’t notice it when you’re dealing with a whole cartful of other items.

Certainly there will be times when things cost a bit more in the grocery store or a bit more at the farmers’ market – prices are not static and depend on a number of variables. But in general, if you really study it, I think you’ll find that most prices at the farmers’ market for produce are pretty much on par with those at a regular (or high end) grocery store. But….you get a bonus! The produce at a producer-only farmers’ market is usually MUCH more fresh and flavorful and comes in many more varieties.

It’s definitely something to keep in mind next time you’re shopping.

Stay tuned for part 2: meat and cheese prices

I just love the West Chester Growers’ Market!
The market was the first producer-only farmers’ market in this area of PA. Its first year was 1995, and we were one of the founding members.
While there are a bunch of markets everywhere now, I’ll always have a warm spot in my heart for the WCGM….you always remember your first!
I hope you enjoy the video….

1. Locate a producer-only market near you. (This means, the vendor is the farmer/producer of the product. Be cautious, as many times something called a “Farmer’s Market”…particularly indoor, multi-day markets, have very few actual farmers!) If you don’t know where they are, check out LocalHarvest.org for easy help.

2. Plan your shopping strategy. Just like shopping at a store, it’s nice to have a shopping list and not go on an empty stomach! But here’s some other farmers’ market specific tips:
A. Dress for the weather (raingear, hat/sunblock, etc.)
B. Scope out parking strategy and plan accordingly. Note: most markets have parking info on their websites, so check them out before you go for the first time!
C. Bring necessaries: reusable totebags, wheeled cart if you’ll have a lot to carry, beverage of choice, money and/or checks in an easily accessible location (there’s nothing worse than needing to dig in a huge purse while holding onto your toddler and 3 bags of goodies!)

3. Plan your attack…er, timing. Many busy markets occur on the weekend, and lots of folks try to get there as early as possible for the best selection. While this may hold some merit, it can also lead to huge crowds, long lines, and crabby people (such as shoppers, farmers, kids, drivers, and the guy who just wants to browse). Unless you absolutely MUST HAVE something that is in short supply, try going a bit later in the market day to avoid crowds/lines and find closer parking. Some farmers will take orders in advance…so it never hurts to ask the week before if the farmer can set something aside for you the following week, so that you can come later in the day.

4. Make things easy for yourself. It’s much easier to shop if you do not also have to worry about your hyperactive dog, tired toddler who needs a nap, or other major distraction. Fortunately, I’ve never seen a tiger at a farmers’ market, but you get the idea. Shop with a partner who can lend a hand when need arises. (or bring yummy snacks to entertain the tiger).

5. Shop the market. It’s always a great idea to take a walk around the whole market and peruse the offerings before you start making purchases. It’s a bummer if you just start shopping and find that the strawberries a few stands down look much nicer than the ones you just bought as you entered the market! So, take a look around first (here’s where that beverage of choice…like coffee,..plays a nice role!), then start purchasing. It’s also common for folks to get hooked on certain vendors and only go to them. But you should still peruse the market. You may find there’s a brand-new tiny little stand tucked in a corner that you hadn’t noticed before….and they have JUST the item you want! Plus, many farms grow/produce different items and varieties from year to year, so don’t miss out on something because you only ever go to a couple of stands at the market. Discovery is part of farmers’ market experience!

6. Ask questions. Farmers/Producers at markets like these have great pride in their product, and they want you to be happy with your purchases. Don’t hesitate to ask the farmer questions! You can ask about cooking or storage tips, inquire about a new variety on the table, or ask how the item is grown. And if your curious (and it’s not too busy at the market), you can ask deeper questions like ‘why did you get into farming?’ or ‘what’s the hardest part about being a farmer?’. Markets are about the food, certainly, but they’re also about community building. Ask questions, get to know the food and each other. The market experience will be all the richer for it!

7. Tell your friends/family/neighbors/coworkers. Better yet, make a morning (or afternoon) of it, and go to the market together. Talk about community…there you go! Commune with your friends and the farmers. As you do, you’ll have a good time and you’ll encourage the growth of more markets and more small farms!

8. Discover and enjoy!