A farmers market is a great place to find nutrient-rich, fresh, and delicious food. Discover what your local market has to offer this season!
After the long winter, many of us are ready to start eating fresh, seasonal produce like melon, corn on the cob, and tomatoes. This year, make it a point to check out your local farmers market. You may find the food is cheaper, more nutrient-rich, and even better tasting.
Learn more about the benefits of using your local farmers market and check out a couple of recipes to try with some of the produce you’ll find there.
What Is a Farmers Market?
A farmers market is just what it sounds like – a public gathering of farmers selling the food they produce directly to consumers. Farmers markets vary in size and reflect the current season and the region’s agricultural staples. Some markets concentrate on locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, while others carry items such as baked goods, eggs, flowers, locally made crafts, and more. Some markets operate year-round, while others are only open in the spring, summer, and early fall.
With more people expressing an interest in buying locally and learning more about where their food comes from, the number of farmers markets is growing rapidly. To find one near you, ask your neighbors or friends, search the Internet for local farmers markets, or check out the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers Market Directory.
Why Should I Shop at a Farmers Market?
There are a lot of great benefits of shopping at your local farmers market. Here are some points to consider:
- Get lower prices: Many farmers markets sell conventional and organic produce at a lower price than supermarkets.
- Support for local farmers: Farmers markets provide a low-barrier entry point for beginning farmers. A farmers market allows them to start small as they test the market. In addition, farmers can keep more of the money from the sale of their products.
- Improve the local economy: Farmers markets and other local retailers return more of their revenue to the local community than many large chains. When food is produced, processed, distributed, and sold all within the same area, more money stays in the local economy.
- Learn more about your food: By going to a farmers market, you can learn more about your food, where it comes from, how it’s grown, and more. You can ask about growing standards, such as whether something is organic, hormone-free, or anything else that’s important to you.
- Get advice from the farmers: At farmers markets, you can talk to the farmers you’re buying from. Ask for tips on how to prepare the foods, how you should preserve them or store them, and more. You can also ask for help picking the ripest fruit or the best vegetables depending on when you plan to use them.
- Get the freshest and most flavorful food: More than 85% of farmers market vendors travel fewer than 50 miles to sell at a market. That means what you’re buying is at the peak of its freshness. A lot of the produce in our supermarkets travels thousands of miles before it gets to our plates.
- Make connections: Local farmers markets are a great way to make personal connections with the people who grow your food, as well as the friends and neighbors you see there.
- Reap the health benefits: The shorter amount of time and distance your food takes from farm to sale, the higher the levels of vitamins and minerals it retains. When you’re at the market, you can ask how to freeze or can certain foods so that you can enjoy healthy fruits and veggies all year long.
- Use your benefits: Many farmers markets accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; Women, Infants, and Children coupons and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers.
- Try new things: You’ll often find a wide variety of produce at a farmers market. You may see purple cauliflower, unique kinds of mushrooms, a rainbow assortment of tomatoes, and more. Try something different each time you go and discover some new favorites.
- Cook seasonally: Many of us are used to being able to buy tomatoes, strawberries, or melons at the supermarket all year long, but if they aren’t in season, that means they’re transported from a different region. Enjoy what’s in season in your region, so that you’re eating the freshest foods.
What Can I Make With My Farmers Markets Finds?
While every farmers market is unique, here are a few recipes and cookbooks to inspire you to make something with your local market finds:
- Grilled Stone Fruit Recipe: If you have a grill or a grill pan, you can grill stone fruit like peaches and nectarines. You can use them as a healthy dessert right off the grill (or with ice cream), or enjoy chopped them up in your oatmeal, as a side with grilled meat, or on top of a summer salad.
- Cherry Tomato Galette Recipe: If you have a lot of tomatoes to use up, try this tomato galette recipe. It takes a pound of tomatoes, some fresh basil, and can be served as an appetizer or an entire meal.
- Summer Vegetable Chowder Recipe: This chowder recipe calls for fresh corn, bell peppers, zucchini, and more. You can have healthy, vegetable-rich soup in 35 minutes.
- Garden to Table Cookbook: The Department of Veterans Affairs has a cookbook full of recipes centered around a particular fruit or vegetable like cauliflower, beets, tomatoes, greens, and more. Find recipes for roasted carrots, zucchini muffins, and kale chips.
A farmers market is a great place to find nutrient-rich, fresh, and delicious food. Discover what your local market has to offer this season!