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Growing up in Florida, I didn’t know a farmers’ market from a supermarket — they didn’t exist in my little corner of the world, and honestly I wasn’t all that interested in veggies, anyway. (I was young, and to me hamburgers were nature’s perfect food.) Ever since I moved to the West Coast in 2001, however, living in Oregon and all over Los Angeles, I’ve never been more than a few blocks from a weekly farmers’ market, and the phenomenon has really grown on me.
We have a great one here in Santa Monica — it’s humblingly huge, you’re liable to rub shoulders with celebrity actors and celebrity chefs alike, and yet it maintains a nice community vibe that I think — besides the beautiful fruits and veggies, at least — is the main attractor of people to these markets.
My friend Bill is a volunteer for the SM Farmers’ Market, and earlier this week the market sent he and I on a mission: to take photographs of one of their peach suppliers’ orchards, out in the rural Northeast part of LA County. It was a blast, so I thought I would share some of my pictures and some facts about farmers’ markets here. It was peach blossom time rather than peach harvest time, so our trip was a treat for the eyes more than the palate:
Click above for a huge-sized version of this pic.
Though farmers’ markets have been around ever since there were farmers, they’ve skyrocketed in popularity over the past decade. In the U.S. and Canada, there were 1,755 such markets in 1994, versus 4,385 of them in 2006. (There are still none in my hometown, though Florida’s got more u-pick orange businesses than I care to think about.)
Above: a bee pollinates a nectarine blossom.
Dubbed “the farmers’ market effect” by the New York Times, a recent study shows that vouchers that permit low-income women to shop at a local farmers’ market increase fruit and vegetable consumption in poor families. “It’s not clear why mothers visiting a farmers’ market wound up buying more vegetables than grocery store shoppers, but some women told the researchers that the produce sold at markets seemed to be fresher and of higher quality than supermarket offerings. Many shoppers also said they enjoyed the pleasant community experience and the chance to interact directly with growers, the authors noted.” They certainly have that effect on me.
The grower, John, shows me where buds will eventually turn into peaches.
Lately, though, a controversy has been brewing in LA’s farmers’ markets (sure to be mirrored in other major markets around the country) — the celebrity chefs who were once grumbled-about by hardcore home cookers for swooping in early and snapping up the best mulberries and English peas — are now grumbling about huge pre-orders placed by huge produce distributors, which now snap up product from under their noses. Along with increased demand for fresh, organic produce, farmers’ markets have become big business — and to some, that means a loss of that community feel that made them so much fun to begin with. (You can read about this tempest in a peapod here, in the LA Times.)
Do you have a local farmers’ market? Has it changed the way you eat?
Comments (15)
Comment
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no farmer’s markets in Florida? I would think there would be more in Florida than in most other states…
We have quite a few farmers’ markets here in Rochester NY, most only open from May-October due to the climate here…the main one is the Rochester Public Market, which is open year round. At 103 years old, it’s one of the oldest in the country (it started in 1827, but has been in it’s present location since 1905)
there’s also a few mobile farmers’ markets in the summer that set up shop inside various buildings downtown, makes for a nice lunch break activity…and various suburbs of Rochester have their own, I fondly remember shopping with my mom at the one up the street from our house that set up in a church parking lot every saturday in the summer…
as for the “farmer’s market effect” it definitely makes sense…the produce at the markets (around here at least) are vastly superior and quite a bit cheaper than what you’ll find in a supermarket – and you can always haggle at a farmers’ market ;)
:)
posted by Clotho on 3-21-2008 at 1:16 pm
as for changing the way I eat – definitely. I eat way more fruits and veggies in the the week or so after I shop at a market, mostly because of said “farmers’ market effect”. I also eat way too much Amish candies and baked goods the week or so after visiting the market. Barn raisings and baked goods, 2 activities the Amish can’t be bested in.
:)
posted by Clotho on 3-21-2008 at 1:24 pm
There’s (still) a rural part of LA Country??
Too cool!
posted by Pete on 3-21-2008 at 1:50 pm
Man oh man, farmer’s markets, and more to the point, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) have CHANGED my life. My wife and I live in Logan Square, a neighborhood in Chicago, and every summer there’s a satellite farmer’s market each Sunday.
There are a pair of farmers named Jody and Beth who drive up to sell meat and eggs from their farm, and we signed up for a “meat share.” For $250 for a three-month share, we basically get a bag of assorted frozen meat every month. We’re always amazed at what we get, and how INCREDIBLY tasty it is. I’m not a hard-core foodie, but let me say this: you CAN absolutely taste the difference from store-bought meat. We’ve gotten whole chickens, pork shoulder, various kinds of steaks, hamburger, sausage, bacon…mmm…bacon.
And I really appreciate that I’m friends with the people who raise my food, that I’ve shaken their hands. There’s something very refreshing about that.
posted by David on 3-21-2008 at 2:06 pm
that reminds me, I wanted to join a CSA this year…I haven’t found any around here that supply meat though, just fruit/veg and eggs.
Do you put in any work at the farm of the CSA you belong to? The one I’m looking into joining has cheaper mebership fees if you agree to help out with some labor on the farm a couple weekends during the growing season – something that is very appealing to me, I’d love to get an up close look at how a farm operates
:)
posted by Clotho on 3-21-2008 at 2:28 pm
The Dirt Mall… err Flea Market sells produce. That’s our Florida version of the farmer’s market.
Now, that’s not to say some of the people don’t just stop at Walmart on the way..
posted by Ryan on 3-21-2008 at 2:34 pm
There are farmer’s markets in Florida. At least where I’ve lived in Central Florida and then Tallahassee. It’s a pretty diverse state.
posted by Maria on 3-21-2008 at 2:36 pm
I moved to Wisconsin a few years ago and was exposed to their farmer’s market and was unexpectedly blown away. I’ve heard that the one we have here is the largest local produce farmer’s market in the US. Since going for the first time, I’ve been a huge fan. When the market is open during the spring/summer/fall my diet changes drastically and the amount of fruit and vegetables I eat tends to quadruple, particularly the first few days after that week’s market.
I don’t own a car so the supermarket selection I can access regularly tends to have really poor quality fruits and vegetables. Seeing the produce laid out with the farmers there definitely makes me more willing to eat and try new things; in fact, when the market is open what I make for dinner tends to revolve a lot on what’s being offered that week. At one point last year I saw a woman selling only varieties of peppers, so I ended up buying those and wandering the market collecting other ingredients for chili which I hadn’t been planning on with the summer weather at all!
posted by Hypatia on 3-21-2008 at 2:36 pm
I would *love* to see a bunch of suburban Californians working on a farm to pay for their organic ears of corn. It would definitely make my day. Especially if the farmers make them lay pipe.
But, props to them for trying to recognize the work that goes into farming.
And, in response to the original question, I only go to the farmers market for the kolaches (delicious Czech pastries). I already know enough farmers. :)
posted by kate on 3-21-2008 at 3:21 pm
I second Maria’s response; Florida has farmer’s markets all over. We have them here in the panhandle and I can think of several in the G-ville to central FL area as well as Tampa area.
posted by Reese on 3-21-2008 at 4:30 pm
I third Maria’s response. I’ve lived in South, Central and now the Panhandle area of Florida and I’ve always shopped at local Farmer’s Markets, dirt malls or the corner vegetable stands. I work in Tallahassee and live in Crawfordville and it’s not uncommon to see people on the side of the road selling boiled peanuts, Plant City strawberries, greens or whatever is in season. It’s a great way to do my shopping!!
posted by Sarah on 3-21-2008 at 4:49 pm
OK, Floridians, I hear you! There are some farmers’ markets around. But it was definitely NOT on the radar of my family or anyone I knew in my town growing up in Sarasota County in the 80s & 90s. “Farmers’ market” was not a part of the lexicon.
posted by Ransom on 3-21-2008 at 5:22 pm
Agreed with many of the other comments above – Florida has plenty of farmers markets. A little less anti-Florida snobbery, please! We expect better!
posted by Scott on 3-23-2008 at 10:28 pm
@Scott –
Florida had its way with me for 18 years. Now I can say what I want about it!
posted by Ransom on 3-24-2008 at 1:22 am
just out of curiosity, did you happen to grow up in Miami and go to high school at Ransom Everglades?
posted by Big Kev on 3-24-2008 at 10:17 am