It’s no secret that I love myself some farmer’s market. The produce is usually waaaaay fresher than the grocery store, comes in different varieties, and best of all, cuts out the middleman–leaving produce in your fridge and cash right in the farmer’s pocket. Does anyone else feel all warm and fuzzy inside?
They key to shopping farmer’s markets is to embrace the season. It’s not like the grocery store where you’ll find oranges shipped in from Australia or cantaloupe from Mexico. Most of the food has been grown within 100 miles of the market, so your climate and soil will dictate what you’ll find. That being said, once you wrap your mind around that, you’ll totally be able to savor the season.
I thought it might be kind of fun to arm you with a little monthly guild to the farmer’s market. Keep in mind, it will vary a bit from state to state, but in general, it will hold true.
What You’ll Likely See at the Farmer’s Market in August {spoiler alert: EVERYTHING!}:
- Some Greens {depending on how hot it is}
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Beets
- Pears
- Apples
- Corn
- Apricots
- Cantaloupe
- Watermelon
- Honeydew
- Peaches
- Cucumbers
- Carrots
- Peppers
- Artichokes
- Onions
- Squash
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Peas
- Green Beans
- Beans
- Garlic
- Turnips
- Parsnips
- Potatoes
- Mushrooms {if you live in a dry area, you may only find dried mushrooms}
- Fresh cheese {both cow and goat}
- Milk
- Local honey
- Artisan breads
- Fresh Tortillas
- Farm Fresh Eggs
- Sausages and Meats
- Fresh Herbs
- Flowers {both picked and for planting}
- Huckleberries {in some areas}
Farmer’s markets are a great way to get kids involved in decisions about their food. Let them choose, touch, taste the food. Chatting with the farmer’s who grew the food also makes food seem more personal. Make sure to bring them along this month–the colors, smells, and tastes should lure them in–if that doesn’t do it, maybe a bag of kettle corn will.
Carry on,
~Mavis
Want to know how to choose the best of what the farmer’s market has to offer? Check out Choosing the Best Produce at the Farmer’s Market for tips.
Carolina says
Here in the Seacoast of NH we have a great group of Farmer’s Markets, the kind that actually sell local produce—and we have them all year round. They just move indoors in the winter time. Check out Seacoast Eat Local. Their website will reinforce your dreams of ditching the HOA and moving east!!!
Anyone says
Our local farmers market is cancelled due to the volunteer who ran it for years retired and no one else stepped up. In this area most people work two or more jobs or don’t work at all due to “disability” which usually means they are “self medicating” in addition to prescribed meds.
I currently work at a food pantry and know I need to move but where? My engine failed and over half my income goes for rent on a camping trailer that isn’t meant for the harsh winters here.
The food pantry IS the local housing resource and they feel it’s shelter be thankful
Studio apts go for $250 a month more.
I need to find somewhere to live not just spend all my money on rent and utilities.
FarmGirl says
In my town in Kansas literally every business is hiring, but there aren’t any drug free workers. Every business is struggling to find employees. There are three factories hiring and they have very good beginning wages. In addition to those, nearly every retail business has been hiring for two to four years now. This county has one of the highest unemployment rates in Kansas, but no workers…it’s crazy!!! We need office staff and have contacted three manpower agencies and they don’t have any workers either. Rent is reasonable as well.
So anyway I have no idea where you live, but you might look into moving to Kansas or SE Missouri.
Carolina says
FARMGIRL— We have a similar problem here in New Hampshire. Plenty
of jobs but not enough people who could pass a drug test, unfortunately.
Jennifer says
this time of year, our focus is strawberries and peaches at the market. Plus a few staples. But oh, those peaches!!!
Incidentally, I wanna plug the value of shopping at farmers markets. I’m not saying it’s cheap. It’s definitely not. But those dollars actually go to the farms themselves, which is much better for the farmers.
Our peach vendor is Peach Jamboree from Oroville, CA. There was a huge wildfire that burned 1000s of acres in that area around the Fourth of July, and every single structure on their peach farm burned. (This is the same town that saw massive flooding from the damn failure in January–some orchards and grams flooded then.) The peach trees were fine though! So they were left with no home, no storage buildings, no cooler for the fruit, no housing for their few workers that live on their property. And they spent weeks without shelter (camping on the land), water, power, and still have no cell service within 10 miles of their farm. All in the midst of peach season. Yeah, every dollar counts.