Farmers' Markets

Caribbean girl

Caribbean girl

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Do you have farmers' markets in your country, where vegetables and fruits are sold straight from the farm? We have about 3 or 4 of them in my country. They usually operate on weekends and open early in the morning, around 6 a.m. or thereabouts. I can always get fresh produce when I go to these farmers' markets, and the prices are lower than if I bought these same things at a supermarket. Lots of people have caught on to these markets and come out early to get their fresh produce.

Apart from the fresh produce, there are also other stalls set up by some persons who come out to sell their own homemade stuff, like sweet bread, cakes, fishcakes, patties and muffins as well as sandwiches. Some also bring out jewellery and small paintings to sell. It is usually a very pleasant atmosphere at that time of the morning. We can also buy coffee or tea and sit around on the benches provided and have an early morning breakfast there.

I have not been to one of these markets in a while though, and think it is time to get back there.

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It's a big thing in my area , farmers markets are great I always spend to much , dairy , veggies, meats , it's all there
 
There are also big in my area. We have a few that are open all year around but most of them are just open through the fall months. They are usually only open on Saturday morning and early afternoon. I love going to them. Not only is the produce fresh but there is always other stuff available to purchase like preserves, breads, wine, crafts, etc. On top of that they usually have some sort of entertainment going on. It is a nice way to spend a Saturday morning. I always look forward to going to them and taking the grandkids along!
 
  • My mom still has a stall in the market where she goes every week to sell her 'produce'. I inverted that because I believe she has very little to sell if anything, I think it's a good habit now even though she's done it all her life. Caught up with my own busy life, I had not gone there in years until recently. When I did visit her I felt so at home and so did she.

  • I remember telling her many years ago she didn't have to do that anymore as we had all grown up and she really made no money from it to speak of.The land and it's produce was what provided for us as children but over the years everyone moved on and left it behind. As they say around here we were raised by the land' but none of us really got interested in carrying on the legacy.
Today I think she had one of the most meaningful careers and I regret that we kids did not make the land a greater part of our lives. So yes Caribbean girl - I know about those markets. I just should have spent more time going there.
 
We have a weekly Farmer's Market here. I enjoy going to get any of the in season produce available and homemade items. Unfortunately, we do not have a long growing season so it's a very limited thing. I believe it starts in late May and ends in Late October. I wish the crafts and homemade food stuffs were available all year round in the same format but no one wants to shovel snow to set up and there is not a heating building large enough to host it during the winter.
 
Yes, plenty of Farmer's Markets in Kent. After all, it is the Garden of England! I like to seek out produce that I can't easily buy in the supermarket; game, for example or speciality rare breed meat. I'm sometimes disappointed by the vegetables, though. To be honest they often don't seem any better than the best of supermarket veg and often the prices are quite high.
 
We used to have several local ones when I lived in the south of England. I rarely if ever bought anything from them though because like @morning glory I found that they were very expensive for what they were. I didn't think the quality was any better than I could get in my local supermarket or my own very plot. The artisan stuff was seriously expensive and whilst nice to try want something that I would routinely purchase. It just always struck me as a means of selling off produce at very high rates without it being anything better than a supermarket sadly.

The result is that I avoid farmers markets because I have come to associate then with overpriced produce and not markets where farmers seek their produce and I think that is the difference between the various countries. Here in England, at least in the south, farmers markets are not markets for farmers produce but fit artisan products to be sold by people trying to branch out and sell to the public.
In Cheshire, if I want to purchase potatoes from a farmer, I literally go to his farm and purchase a sack of them at a sensible price.
 
Ive never been disappointed!
The salad stuffs and veg is always good and fair priced , I go to seek good local sustainable produce , the suppliers who charge to much are normally the ones who know the value of the end product or a game man I no longer use sells venison burgers as a end product and seems to think his raw product is worth more !
Yes some of the meat is expensive but if you want to know it lived well and was treated well then maybe the price warrants it!
A lot of local farms around me don't want people bounding up to their homes asking for stuff , and I understand that, the markets are their distribution points and some have logistic syndicates for produce going further a field ,
Like them or not my local farmers markets are here to stay
 
I adore them but there's probably not as many here in Japan that I've found compared to my home country. Here is the link to one of my favorites although it's in Japanese

http://farmersmarkets.jp/

That particular one, Farmers Market at UNU, is great because as well as having loads of seasonal produce from local growers and other things like breads, jams and home made goodies, there are a bunch of food trucks there! I love food truck culture and that seems to be growing in popularity a lot here in Japan too!
 
What I like most about these farmers' markets is the atmosphere with people sitting around and chatting, while having an early morning breakfast. It is a great way to spend a Saturday morning. I like to admire the craft which they have on sale, but I very seldom buy any of these except on the rare occasion if I see something that I really like. I can also buy a take-away lunch when I go to these markets, and warm it up later on, saving me having to cook anything that day. As it relates to the vegetables, I can get most of them cheaper than what I would get at the supermarket, but it tends to vary depending on the item. The eggs, for instance, are about the same price as what I would spend at the supermarket, so I do not usually buy eggs from these markets.
 
There is a farmer's market here that is the center of goods from the provinces particularly the fish and seafood. Market vendors in the the metropolis would troop to this farmer's market aptly named Farmer's Market in Cubao, Quezon City. The fish and seafood are quite cheap and the market vendors can still earn a good margin. With the vegetables, it's the same thing. Near this farmer's market is a Sunday market which boasts of the freshest food items, from fruits and vegetables to meat and cooked dishes.
 
We have several farmer's market's in my area. I enjoy going to get the fresh vegetables and bread. The atmosphere at the markets are always so friendly and the vendors are more interested in educating you about their product than selling it to you. They are usually only open a few hours in the morning a few days of the week.
 
Caribbean girl, you are so right about the atmosphere.It's wonderful. Did you say you find the prices are cheaper? I on the other hand think some of the prices higher than the supermarket but because the perception is that the produce is fresher people prefer to get them at the market and sometimes give little attention to price. What's also great is the ability to bargain so to speak.
 
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