Farm Markets

Eating locally is a very good thing for yourself, and for the environment. Eating locally produced foods often means that you are eating natural ingredients without preservatives, and things that are not pre-prepared. While they might seem overwhelming at first, once you get a feel for the flow of the market near you, you will be shopping with the best of them.

Below are some tips that might help you save some time, and money on your trip:

1. Don't be afraid to browse:Take a look around before you buy, compare the freshness and quantity of items at different sellers as well as the prices.
2. Think seasonal, and be Flexible: Don't go with a list of items you want, just see what is there and plan your meals after. Crops are greatly affected by weather and changes in rainfall, temperature, and sunlight can change the time your favorite produce is ripe by weeks.
   
3. Go Early, Go Late: If your market is busy, going early may be the best way to ensure you have your pick of the freshest and best looking produce. The earlier you go the better your selection will be. That being said, those who come near the end often get some great deals from Farmer's who would rather not carry leftovers home.
   
4. More than just Fruit and Vegetables: Farm markets often carry much more than fruits and veggies, try out locally made baked goods, farm fresh eggs and dairy products, honey, jams, and meats. If you wonder about the difference between farm fresh eggs and store bought, take 2 clear glasses, crack a farm egg in one and a store egg in the other and just look at the difference. Store egg will have a thick sticky white with a pale yellow yolk. The Farm egg will have a thin, runny white and a bright golden yellow to a early orange yolk. The shell is different too, you may notice it is a bit harder to crack the farm egg, its shell is thicker, harder, and break into pieces rather than shatters.
   
5. Get to know your farmer: After you go a few times, you will no doubt develop some favorite booths, get to know the people who run these, chat with them, and who knows, maybe they will cut you a deal, or thow in a freebie.
6. Buy in Bulk: Love fresh peaches? Wish you could savor that flavor all year round? You can! Simply peel, pit and slice your peaches, set them in 1 layer on a cookie sheet and stick in the freezer, after a few hours, move them into a freezer storage bag and they will last all winter. This method works for many fruits, vegetables, and herbs. You can also try your hand at canning.

Still not convinced the farm market is right for you? Many cities have local Food Co-ops, or private companies that obtain, deliver, and distribute fresh local produce for you. Here a few to check out and see how they work:

Irv and Shelly's Fresh Picks : Providing year-round home delivery of local and organic produce, meat, dairy and eggs.

Kalamazoo People's Food Co-Op :Full service natural grocery owned by its customers with goals of stimulating the local economy, creating a sense of community, and providing healthy, fresh food.

Project Fresh: Provides people receiving WIC, Low income seniors, and people receiving other forms of assistance with the ability to select fresh local produce from farm markets. Project Fresh is the name of the program in Michigan, and it is available in several other states as well.

Do a web search for services such as these near you! Still not convinced, here are just a few reasons to give it a try:

1) Freshness: Local food gets to the consumer more quickly, meaning it is fresher, and eating it at the peak of its ripeness means it has a higher vitamins and minerals content.

2) Cost of Transport: Most food travels an average of 1500 miles before it gets to you, and that's a lot of time, money, fuel, and pollution. Higher fuel prices means higher transportation costs, which are passed on to you, the buyer.

3) Supporting small, local, business: When you buy from a market or local co-op, you are most likely buying from small family farms rather than large corporations (which is where most of the food in this country now comes from) Breaking out of the corporate food cycle is a great way to take back control of how our food in produced.

4) It's Fun: To me there are few things more awesome than running out to the farm market on a Saturday morning, enjoying the interaction of people, sampling nature's bounty, and coming home with healthy treasures. It's also a great way to meet people in your community, and feel a part of something.

5) It's Educational: Take the kiddies along, let them learn where there food comes from and about the hard work it takes to grow it. Kids may even be more interested in eating there veggies when they are choosing them from a stand rather than taking them out of the freezer.