Shopping on a budget at the Farmers’ Market

So much produce for around $16 at Heart of the City's Farmers' Market

Where are you buying your fruits and veggies lately? When you start to branch out from supermarket shopping (goodbye tasteless food out of season, high CO2 miles in transport, bad fluorescent light, and industry marketing!)  your best choices are:

• Shop at the Farmers’ Market
• Order from a local CSA (community supported agriculture)
• Grow your own

Why the Farmers’ Market rocks
Growing your own food isn’t something many families get to do easily, and what you get delivered in a CSA box may rot before you get to cooking it. That’s why I still think going to the Farmers’ Market is the best choice for individuals and small, busy families. To keep your carbon footprint as low as possible and stay healthy, you want to get locally grown, pesticide – free food.

The Farmer’s Market is a great place for accountability. You can get fresh eggs, for example, and avoid reading confusing egg carton labels by actually speaking with a human who will tell you if the farm’s hens are cage-free,have their beaks clipped, or how they are treated. Why not find this stuff out? It’s what feeds us. I even got a whole carton of high quality eggs this way for less than $4.

Organic versus no spray at the Farmers’ Market
Certified organic food can be really expensive because obtaining the certified organic label is a rigorous process. According to Gail P. Myers from Farms to Grow, the initial and follow up costs for inspection, maintenance, and record upkeep deter small farmers who are already mindful and use no sprays, nor pesticides.In a study by Farms To Grow, almost 70% of Northern California farmers were using low or no pesticides.

So ask farmers if they use sprays and pesticides. You may not need to buy organic if you’re on a budget and have access to no-spray, locally grown food, and you can save a lot this way. Some veggies like asparagus or eggplant are much safer to buy non-organic. Berries, peaches, peppers and other thin-skinned fruits and veggies are important to get without sprays or chemicals. Organic is your safest label when you can’t talk to the grower, but at the Farmers’ Market you can! (do get your bananas organic and fair trade at the supermarket though; non-organic ones are sprayed to death.)

It pays off to become a Farmers’ Market Snob
If you have the luxury of having various Farmers’ Markets in your geographical area, you might do well to shop around too. I’ve found big price differences between the Noe Valley Farmers’ Market and the Heart of the City one at Civic Center near the Tenderloin here in San Francisco. Due to the lack of quality food markets in the Tenderloin, the area is considered a food desert, yet it’s centrally located attracting college students to seniors on a budget. Many people here shop with food stamps, and market demand keeps prices very low. The farmers have flexibility on rental fees and don’t have to show if they are having a slow growing season. The result is a win-win situation that provides affordable healthy food and profits for the farmers.

Getting creative with low cost food
On my last visit I got a variety of mushrooms, cage-free, organic eggs, Persian cucumbers,cheap no-spray red bell peppers (so pricy elsewhere!) baby carrots to drizzle with maple syrup and roast, as well as Dino kale. I paid less than twenty bucks!!

Many farmers’ markets now have live music, crafts, activities even. They create a sense of community. The Hillcrest Farmers’ Market is one of my favorites when I return to San Diego. And the Union Square market in downtown NY breaks up all the concrete with good food and people.

So if you live in an area without a farmers’ market, consider starting one! Check out Shareable’s Guide or one by the Rodale Insitute