With larger, chain grocery stores beginning to offer more local and organic products, it is important to note the huge differences in shopping a Farmers’ Market vs. grocery store. From savoring produce at the peak of freshness to meeting the people who grow your food, there are countless reasons to shop farmers markets. Here are just a few!
Taste Real Flavors
The fruits and vegetables you buy at the farmers market are the freshest and tastiest available. Fruits are allowed to ripen fully in the field and are brought directly to you—no long-distance shipping, no gassing to simulate the ripening process, no sitting for weeks in storage. This food is as real as it gets—fresh from the farm.
Truly Seasonal
The food you buy at the farmers market is seasonal. It is fresh and delicious and gives the truest flavors. The grocery store knows no season and this is simply not the reflection of the cycles of nature in your region.
Nutrition Values
Food in the U.S. travels an average of 1,500 miles to get to your plate. Did you know that produce begins to lost it’s nutritional value 7 days after harvested? Imagine what it has lost by the time you get it home from the grocery store after it’s journey to make it to the shelves.
Farm to Table
Much food found in grocery stores is highly processed and grown using pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and genetic modification. Some of it has been irradiated, waxed, or gassed in transit. These practices may have negative effects on human health. In contrast, most food found at the farmers market is minimally processed, and many of our farmers go to great lengths to grow the most nutritious produce possible by using sustainable techniques, picking produce right before the market, and growing heirloom varieties.
