Farmer’s Market Benefits

Farmer’s Market Benefits

I love to shop at a Farmer’s Market, and not only because it makes me feel like I am in Europe, but there are so many benefits to it! Here is how you should buy your produce at a grocery store organic, local and conventional. To learn more about the reasons behind this, read here. But What’s great is at a Farmer’s Market you are pretty much guaranteed local and organic produce!

The number one benefit in my opinion is that you know that your produce is local and most importantly FRESH! Did you know that by the time vegetables or fruit reach your grocery store, it has probably been weeks since they were picked! Weeks! Gives a new meaning to “fresh”. If you’re interested to learn more this is a great article that discusses the process of delivering produce to the stores and how long it takes.

Another benefit that ties back to fresh produce, is you will eat seasonally! This isn’t something we always think about since we pretty much have access to all types of foods year round. But have you ever bought a dull looking tomato in the winter and realized it had no flavor vs a plump juicy bright red one in the summer? Our ancestors evolved eating foods that were in season, actually up until VERY recently everyone ate that way. And guess what, they were slimmer and healthier. We should pay attention to what foods grow at what times and opt for those. It is what our body craves too (warm pumpkin soup in November anyone??)

Next up, you are supporting farmers! It’s not just a giant brand behind a product, it’s the person selling the food to you! Strike up a conversation and ask them about their food or ask how to cook something. This is a great way to form a relationship with the farmer and to learn new tips and tricks!

You can experiment and try new foods! As mentioned before, farmers are experts with their foods, and so if you’ve been hesitant to try a new vegetable ask the farmer how to prepare it.

Get your kids involved! Look up recipes before going to the market with your kids and then ask them to help you find them- like a scavenger hunt. This gets kids excited food and cooking and more likely to want to eat the healthy meal if they are a picky eater.

Is It Affordable?

Health food stores have gotten a bad rep in the past few years as being too expensive. Although, side note, I have to say that Whole Foods has gotten very affordable recently; I spend less there than Stop & Shop! But Farmer’s Markets are even more affordable making it possible for anyone to shop healthy. A lot of them also accept Nutrition Benefit Programs. The NYC markets accept the following- SNAP, Health Bucks, FMNP and others. You can find the complete list here.

How Do I Find One?

Farmer’s Markets are popping up in many locations. The easiest way to search for one is honestly by googling “Farmer’s Market near (your city or town).” If there isn’t one close by, maybe you can research local farmers and see if there is interest in setting one up.