Farmers' Market Shopping Tips

About author / Victoria Wesseler

Healthy eating advocate; master gardener; local food expert. Even veggie haters love her recipes.

Every Saturday morning, I visit a different Farmers’ Market in Indiana. I love shopping at them. And apparently so do lots of Americans. Since 1994, farmers’ markets have more than doubled to nearly 4,000 markets nationwide. There are lots of reasons to visit them and enjoy the abundance of just-picked fruits and vegetables, freshly laid eggs, local honey, unusual jams and jellies, “like Grandma used to make” baked goods, artisan cheeses, and grass fed meats.

Many are attracted to these markets for the social interaction with the producers and feel that it is important to get to know who grows their food. Best of all, the markets are great places for discovering food items that will never be available in a large grocery store. Many of the items that you’ll find at these markets, such as heirloom tomatoes, do not travel well or keep well in storage. So a Farmers' Market is the ideal place to find new and exciting things for your dinner table.

To make your market experience a great one, here are a few tips:

• Bring cash. Many vendors are not set up for credit or debit cards. Small bills are always appreciated.

• Bring fabric tote bags to help reduce the use of plastic bags or containers.

• Bring a sturdy cooler and some ice packs. If you are going to buy sweet corn, bring a cooler packed with ice cubes or chipped ice so you can pack the corn immediately in the ice to reduce the conversion of the corn’s sugar to starch during travel time.

• Bring a plastic bucket half filled with water for any flower bouquets that you might buy.

• Wear comfortable shoes, loose clothing, a hat, and a high SPF sun block. You’ll probably be there longer than you intended and you’ll want to be sunburn free when you return home.

• Arrive within 30 minutes of the posted opening time so that you have the best selection. I was at a market last week and only an hour after opening, all the raspberries were completely sold out at one vendor.

• Don’t go if you are in a hurry. Many of the vendors chat with the customers and lines may form. But that’s the beauty of the experience. It’s all part of the atmosphere that makes the shopping interaction so personal.

• Walk around the entire market once to get familiar with the items and vendors. Compare prices. Then begin to make your purchases.

• If you see something that you are not familiar with, ask the vendor about it. Many vendors will have recipes for their items and are extremely informative.

• On each trip, buy at least one item that you have never tried before.

• Ask questions. Talk to the vendor about where the produce was picked or how the animals were raised. Again, that’s part of the wonderful experience of this outdoor shopping adventure-- You are really going to get to connect with your food and the people who produce it. That item has a story behind it and the vendors are more than delighted to share it with you.

If any of you have a particular Farmers' Market that you enjoy visiting, let me know about it. Tell me why it is special to you and be sure to include the address so others can visit it. It will be fun to share experiences and discover new markets in our communities as we savor the bounty that these wonderful farmers, producers, and food artisans have to share with us.

Serves/Makes: 8

• 4 cups cucumber, cut into 1 inch rounds
• 4 cups red and yellow pear or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 cup green onions (green and white part), cut on the diagonal into half-inch pieces
• 1 cup red onions, cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped oregano
• 1 tablespoon finely diced flat leaf parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup kalamata olives