Farmers markets

[Snowy Owl]

There are several in and around London that I frequent and I think the range is excellent.  It's not really a farmer's market as such but I love the food market at Borough.  It has the most amazing range of stuff and really good cuts of meat.  I often go there when I have a craving for venison or rabbit and they have some Turkish stalls (including one with amazingly good Turkish Delight.

I also like the Food Fair they have on the South Bank at weekends.  There's a really good chutney stall which sells some particularly good sweet pickle and an amazing bread stall.

Some of them are a bit over priced though but I do like the range of things and particularly the range of fresh breads.

By the way, did anyone else seeing this thread burst into the Farmer's Market song from the Armstrong and Miller Show?  Whenever anyone says they're going to a farmer's market I want to start singing it. I like farmer's markets but the sketch does make fun of the middle class English and their willingness to pay over the odds for things with a particular cachet.   

For those who don't know it, the link is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afY4v0y4fL4 (note - contains a couple of minor swear words).   

[YummyMummy66]

I am in Berks County, Pennsylvania, (right next door to Lancaster County and The Amish/Mennonnite communities), and we have many farmer's markets in our area, local and not too far away.

The most famous one I would say is, "Green Dragon".  I have known people to come from out of state to visit Green Dragon.  It is located off of Adamstown, PA, not sure of exact town.   It is held every Friday from 9am to 9pm.  Good Friday and Mother's day weekend are two of the most attended Fridays'.    There is an animal auction every wee, (usually consisting of different types of birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, ducks, chicks, hamsters, etc.  and a few goats). Alas, it is becoming more commercialized and is not the same as it once was, but is still a great place to visit if you like this type of thing and are in our area.  (They not only sell food, but gadgets, clothes, purses, nail polish, perfume, plants, etc.).

Then we have many local farm markets to choose from weekly.  The main one my husband and I go to is The Reading Farmers market located around The Reading Fairgrounds Mall. 

We also have one in Shillington and West Reading.

OH, and let's not forget, Shady Maple....they have a great store/farmers market but most everyone comes for their smorgasboard.  Love, love the buffet.  This is another place that usually has many visitors from out of state.

[Cami]

My back yard looks out onto a farmer's field and it's no surprise that there are farmer's markets here -- all on Saturday morning. We seldom go, however, because most of them open at 7am and close at 9am and I'm not getting up that early on a Saturday morning. Also -- the prices are never less than twice and often 4-5 times what you pay in a store. I guess I'm not a particularly sensitive eater, because I generally cannot taste the difference between the super expensive farmer's market food and what I get in the local grocery store. So it's not worth it to me.

[Thipu1]

A problem with the Saturday Farmers' Market here is that every ingredient used in everything sold must be produced within a certain radius of the city.  That meant that our favorite bake stall could no longer offer chocolate pound cake.   

The Sunday market is more lenient.  We can get the Fair Trade coffee since it was roasted in the area. 

Dang!  It's Monday and I'm getting really hungry for the Sunday Pickle Man's mushrooms. 

[MindsEye]

The West Side Market - http://www.westsidemarket.org/about.html - in Cleveland is fabulous!

[artk2002]

A problem with the Saturday Farmers' Market here is that every ingredient used in everything sold must be produced within a certain radius of the city.  That meant that our favorite bake stall could no longer offer chocolate pound cake.   

The Sunday market is more lenient.  We can get the Fair Trade coffee since it was roasted in the area. 

We had a similar problem at the Santa Monica markets. It wasn't the ingredients, it was the location of the business. "The Bread Man" couldn't get a booth, so he parks just outside of the market and sells from his van.

[WillyNilly]

Although there are plenty of farmer's market's in NYC, some as close as 5 miles to my home, all are well over an hour away (because of the realities of public transportation). I can't say I'm too heart broken though as often I find them crowded and unpleasant to navigate, and the prices never seem too great. I do value fresh and local produce though, so I joined a CSA - I get less choice but its a better value, and it only takes 5 minutes to get my box of veggies instead of wandering around a market and haggling.

[Twik]

Sob. I want a real farmer's market in Mississauga, gosh darnit!

I bought some plums last year at the one they have in the parking lot of Walmart each summer. The seller said they were fresh off the tree. When I got them home, I discovered they had "product of Mexico" stickers on them. 

Oh, and if I ask someone who grows potatoes what kind they are, I expect them to say something like "Netted Gems" or "Green Mountain," not to receive a blank stare, and be told "These are ... white ... and these others are ... red."

[magicdomino]

The Washington DC area has a lot of farmers markets starting in May (there are a few year-round ones as well).  The ones that I've been to sell only meat and produce grown within a few hours drive, and sold by the farmers themselves.  Usually there are some bakers, cheesemakers, and jam makers as well.  The one I go to in Crystal City has had a salsa maker for the last several years, and last year had a Kettle Corn stand.  Prices tend a bit high, equivilent to the regular prices at a grocery store.  On the other hand, the food is fresher, the peaches and strawberries taste like peaches and strawberries, and one booth in particular has had huge heads of lettuce for only $2.

I love the fresh eggs, but at $5 a dozen, I don't buy them too often. 

[WillyNilly]

Sob. I want a real farmer's market in Mississauga, gosh darnit!

I bought some plums last year at the one they have in the parking lot of Walmart each summer. The seller said they were fresh off the tree. When I got them home, I discovered they had "product of Mexico" stickers on them. 

Oh, and if I ask someone who grows potatoes what kind they are, I expect them to say something like "Netted Gems" or "Green Mountain," not to receive a blank stare, and be told "These are ... white ... and these others are ... red."

Yup. That's another reason I prefer my CSA - I know exactly the farm my food is coming from. And the reality is, the farmers are too busy farming to be spending a whole day driving, setting up a stall, and selling. Often when I have been to farmer's markets the people selling the stuff don't seem very connected to their wares... for that I might as well shop in a grocery store!

[Ereine]

The people who sell at our market's farmer's section are often children of farmers (I bought my strawberries last year from a very nice goth teenager) or wives or then they are retired people who sell apples or potatoes or things like that that don't require constant care. The market is daily but not all people sell every day, I think that the more commercial operations choose their days carefully but they're also more likely to have employees (apart from their own children they often hire teenagers as summer workers). There are also people like an unemployed man I heard about who makes a few thousand euros a summer by selling bilberries that he picks himself, you can do that tax free. Larger farms sell to the professional sellers and there are also two vegetable growers who have large stalls full of different types of lettuce and all sorts of other lovely things, mostly manned by teenagers. Some sellers (mostly general vegetables, some flowers and bakes goods) try to sell even during the winter, but as you can see in this picture, it's a bit difficult.

[Hmmmmm]

Growing up, a Farmer's Market was an actual market with farmer's bringing their produce they had grown to sell... just fresh vegetables, some fruit, maybe eggs. Occassionally you'd have some selling peaches they'd canned from their own trees or jellies made from fruit they had grown. That was my understanding of Farmer's Market.

A decade ago, Farmer's Markets became popular in my urban city. I was always dissapointed to arrive and find very few farmers selling fresh produce and a whole bund of people selling pre-made food.  For everyone one farmer selling fresh vegetables, there was 5 selling jellies, olive oils, hummus, sauces, or curry mixes.  And there'd be some stands selling non-food items like soaps, candles, and other stuff.  My DH and I laughed the first time we went to one that we couldn't buy enough produce to make a decent salad.

Our city has about 6 or 7. They have a mid-week one downtown during the lunch hour that has lots of people selling lunch items but very few people selling produce. I like to go a few times a year to it or one of the Saturday morning venues and will pick up some small batch items.

I just wish they'd call them something besides Farmer's Market because there are so few Farmer's selling anything.

[rashea]

I'm planning on joining the selling side this year (finger's crossed) and get heavy into it next year. I can't wait. I love going to farmer's markets, and I hope I'll have some fun on the other side. Part of my plan is to have some things you just don't find in the supermarkets, and instructions on what to do with some of those funny looking things. I'm hoping eventually to do a CSA, since that seems easier, but I hope I keep doing farmer's markets too.

I'm particularly interested in doing the winter markets, because here in Vermont people are always surprised when there's fresh anything in the winter. I also hope to be able to sell transplants for people who want to try gardening a bit, complete with instructions (and worm castings for sale).

My favorite market is in downtown Montpelier (capitol of Vermont). Everyone goes, and everyone takes their kids and pets and there's usually a children's dance group performing and fresh bread and music. Oddly, where I live now, in the heart of farm country, the market is much smaller and less attended. I'm hoping to help a bit with that, but we'll see.