Do You Shop at the REAL Farmers Market ???

Here in Bend, the farmers come once a week to set up booths in the park. The produce they bring is picked fresh that morning. The stuff tastes amazing. My favorite are the strawberries. They carry varieties that you can't find in the grocery store because they don't pack and travel well. The berries are so ripe that you have to eat them right away because they go bad by the next day. The prices are comparable to the grocery store.

I just got back an hour ago from the cowtown farmer's market in Fort Worth.

I bought 2 bunches of asparagus that was picked YESTERDAY (can you say that about any other place).

I also bought organic lettuces and red potatoes from Gneiser Farms out of Arlington. They're amazing because you can also go to their farms and "pick your own."

The taste is amazing and it is a warm and fuzzy serving items that you actually KNOW where they're from (farmers here have to be local and post their farm info).

The Dallas Farmers' Market is the BEST though! It's worth a trip. Get a cantaloupe from the legendary "Cantaloupe Man". You won't be able to miss him - Blonde Mullet cut and sleeveless shirt. Also try Bettye's Tomatoes. Yum!!!!

Our Farmer's Market is all local farms...sometimes they are more expensive but you know it hasn't been traveling from Timbukto to get here...

I TYPICALLY buy my produce at the store during the winter and the Farmer's Market in the summer...but that's just me!!! Today they had BEAUTIFUL beets in a bunch for $3.00!!

It's a nice stop after the morning baseball game to walk around and see the different produce, flowers, plants, etc...one of our suppliers for our market does beef, bacon, pork, etc. and THAT is more expensive.

Good luck!

I saw the movie Vanishing of the Bees at North Haven Gardens yesterday and it was an eye opener. I have been moving toward growing produce in my backyard (very small space) and buying locally grown produce as much as possible. After seeing the movie yesterday and hearing how our honeybees are mysteriously disappearing and our produce is coming more and more from other countries, I am going to spend more time looking at farmers' markets. Someone in the movie mentioned we have moved so far toward saving money with our food supply but we do not
realize how much it is costing us or will cost us eventually.

I don't know about saving money, but I love Farmer's Markets.
I like seeing the people who actually grew the products and knowing where they came from.
One of my favorite things about our local farmer's markets is the fresh flowers. You can get a beautiful bouquet very inexpensively.
I love the freshness of everything. And the friendliness of the vendors.

I try to support our local farmers as much as possible.

Have fun!

I shop at our local farmer's market. It supports the local economy, is better for the environment (food is not trucked all the way across the country, much is organic), produce is fresher and often I can find vegetables that are not at the supermarket. The strawberries are WAY better. Some things are cheaper, a few things are more expensive. At our market there can be a big difference in prices between different farms so we always walk the market before buying. Plus it's a fun outing and DS learns something about where food comes from. I also subscribe to a CSA (community supported agriculture, share from a local farm), but that doesn't start until June.

I grew up in a place were the local farmers produce stand had cheaper food than the grocery store. Now they are trendy and charge top dollar, especially the weekly farmers markets. It turns me off. I do however love the seasonal farmers markets stands that are off the beaten track. Prices good and produce has far more flavor than anemic grocery store produce. The carrots actually taste home grown. Lettuce does not get slimy for 10 days or more.

I love the Farmer's Market! Sometimes it's cheaper, sometimes it's not but I love supporting my local farmers.
We buy local beef, chickens, veggies, fruits and flowers and eggs. I know the conditions in which our food is being produced, and I know exactly what kind of fertilizer is being used.

I used to live in CA & the farmer's markets we went to were awesome. However, the farmer's markets here are expensive & have a lot of non-produce items. It seems like they sell mostly organic or specialty items. We are also in a hot climate, so that may have something to do with it. It's harder to grow & maintain crops here. So, for those reasons, I don't shop at our farmer's markets. We do participate in our local Bountiful Baskets Co-op, which is super cheap & has turned out great for us. I wish our Farmer's Markets were better, because I love the idea of shopping for my own produce in the open air, and taste testing some of the items.

I don't know if you will save money buying produce from a farmer's market, I haven't noticed that to be the case at the one held in Watter's Creek or Frisco last year, but the produce is better than what you would get at a grocery store. I still buy most of my produce at Wal-Mart, I find the one near me anyway has the best prices and the best store bought produce. The one in Watter's Creek was held on a Friday last year, I don't know if they will do it again this year. And the one in Frisco is at the library across from Dr. Pepper stadium and is easily accessible from the Dallas Tollway and it is Saturday mornings.

At our local market, you will save a bundle on some stuff but not other stuff. During certain seasons you will get awesome local things you won't at the store. We always do a mix between our local farmer's market and our local big grocery store. On a good week, I'll do the farmer's market first, since their supply varies, and then fill in the gaps at the grocery store. Usually when I do this, I have saved a lot of money and don't end up needing any produce from the grocery store. It's amazing how much better some of the local stuff tastes. We have one Amish farm that has strawberries that taste AMAZING.

I would not say I save money because our Grocery store is HEB and they have great prices and many times, they also purchase local produce. .

But you cannot doubt the produce at a farmers market is always going to be fresher. They also tend to carry some produce you cannot find in a regular grocery store. Lots of greens, herbs, the tomatoes are always better.

The eggs, the local cheeses.

The watermelons that are grown down here, the peaches from Fredericksburg, the plums from around the lake.. I love supporting our local farmers as much as possible.

Eggs, fruit, veggies, flowers, honey and I will order my chickens fresh and then pick them up at the farm that comes and sells the eggs. This year I am hoping to try the seafood they sell at the market too. Oh, and pasta and bread and cheese. All which I have bought via the local farmers markets.

I love love love the experience. Meeting the people who are involved with whole process. It is just a better vibe all together. I can ask about what they use on the crops. I can know for sure how my families meat was fed before I buy it. Not only because of them saying how it was done, I get to go to the farm and see where it is coming from.

After reading Michael Pollans ''Omnivores Dilemma'', I will never go back to buying just anything off the stores shelf. I make smarter choices on how my food is treated before we eat it. I also will not buy much prepared foods. Or stuff I just pull out of a package and serve for the most part. If you have not read it and are looking for reasons to shop local, I highly suggest it.

I realize I am not from Plano, but it is just about the same across the board when it comes to what you can get in a farmers market. My only thing is I wish my local market was open year round. I have to drive further in the winter to get all the goodies I buy in the spring, summer and fall!

Good question. I think in this day and age we are looking for reason to think outside the grocery store! this may help alot of people who are on the fence about the Farmers market craze!!

the one I go to isnt out side. its a small building on a farm, and I cant wait till latter this season to go! its open almost all year (they do pumpkins and apples in the fall) but i go around late june and into july to get tomatoes. tomatoes at the store are horriable no matter what time of the year it is. I love eating garden fresh tomatoes like apples just bitting into them yum! also they have quarts of fresh berries for the same price as a pint at the store. so yeah its a BIG money saver.

I don't think you are "saving" money. THe reason I buy from the local farmers is to support them.

I loved the market at Watters Creek last year and I hope they have it again. We also went to a local farm way out in Fairview area that had local honey, local bee pollen and local produce. It was a bit of a drive but we liked the food.

I don't shop Sprouts... I find that when I have shopped there in the past, you must eat the food very fast or it spoils within a couple days.

I buy most of my produce at Market Street located in Allen at Watters Creek shopping center. Market Street is the only grocer I shop and they have local produce as well. I avoid Walmart like the plague and go out of my way to stat away from therm.

There is also Georgia's market in downtown Plano that has good local produce.

Fairview Farms at 75/Parker used to have local growers there, I am not sure if they do this year.

Good luck and if you want the address for the one WAY OUT I can get it and pm you.

We love our farmers market and go every Thursday when it opens up. We like the local honey (better for our allergies and tastes better than the overly sugared up stuff---I like it when they feed the bees different things like apple blossoms, orange blossoms, etc instead of just sugar) and get that every week. The prices are kinda hit and miss; you'll get a great deal on one thing and then pay a little more for something else, but hey, it's fresher and tastes nicer. We like seeing the community come together and visit, we like to chat to the sellers, and we made friends with a farming family that sell grass fed beef and free range chicken. We were able to have a field trip to their farm for the boys and some kids from my moms club and that was really neat (and lovely). Try to find a single peach in a store that's as fragrant and tasty (and um, RIPE) as one you'd find from a local farmer! We like to buy eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, okra, fresh flowers for the table, and then one new thing for the kids to try out every week like butternut squash or whatever. We really like the specialty stuff too. There's a couple local bands that play, there's people who sell their honeys, free range meats, homemade jams, jellies, marmalades, etc, but we LOVE the homemade hummus guy, the cheesecake lady, the empanada lady, and the guy who sells all the fresh homemade pastas (lobster ravioli, sweet potato gnocchi, etc). Our most favorite of all though is the crepe lady: she makes crepes right there for you, and every Thursday we get a then get some fresh pasta and make a great meal of it to share among the 4 of us. (This week was a lovely ricotta gnocchi with spaghetti sauce with onions, yellow squash, peppers, and tomatoes that I got that day, the dinner crepe made of roasted peppers, goat cheese, fresh spinach, and something that starts with a "p"), and the dessert crepe made of nutella, fresh strawberries, and cream). Another day we may have a meal that centers around empanadas, some great new veggie side, and a honey banana crepe. It's just neat to try new things and not really even know what we're having for dinner until we see what is there. But more than anything else, we really like supporting small farmers and our local community.

I was so excited to go to the local farmers market and I happened by it the first Thur. it was open.... turned out it was too soon in the season for produce (I'm NOT a gardener!!) and all they had were a lot of specialty products there (jam, breads, cookies, etc.). Definately NOT what I need more of! Need to check back later int eh season!

Of course the produce is fresher simply by the nature that it wasn't picked, put in cold storage, loaded on a train/truck, shipped across the country, loaded into a regional warehouse, loaded onto another truck and shipped to a local walmart (etc.), unloaded there and brought to the sales floor. RE: price I would assume it would be a bit more expensive b/c they are usually organic products.

I do know that some areas have farms that will provide weekly boxes of just picked fresh produce that are delivered to a local health food co-op (Lakewinds, etc.) and you sign up for the whole season and get a new box of different stuff each week. Often times one or two families will share a box. Good luck!!!

When you buy at the farmers market you are not only getting fresher food, but you are supporting your local growers. I do not get the chance to go often, but when I live in the UK I went every week and got all my produce there.

I look forward to going to the market and buying produce in season that I can cook fresh or freeze for later use. Also you get to see your neighbors and local farmers. You are not paying for produce from the other side of the world. The price depends on what you are wanting and knowing that it is organic.

It also fills in when I don't grow my own things. It's nice to have fresh homemade pickles.

The other S.

I like to shop at Farmers Markets when I can for a lot of the reasons everyone else has mentioned. I just wanted to add that is your looking doe a good one near Plano, to check out McKinney's Farmers Market.

http://www.chestnutsquare.org/programs/farmers_market.asp

Yes, whenever I can I shop at the farmers market. The produce tastes so much better than grocery store stuff... some of it doesn't even taste like the same vegetable or fruit (tomatoes are the most obvious). I like supporting the local farmers too. Plus, I can get a much wider variety at the farmers market - purple carrots, ten kinds of tomatoes, etc. Prices are higher at the farmers market compared to conventional veggies/fruits at the grocery store, but since they taste better and are farmed without pesticides, I'm fine with that.