Farmers Markets: A Step in the Right Direction

Farmers Markets: A Step in the Right Direction

I picked up a DVD at my local video store a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I actually still frequent the Video Factory a few blocks from my home in north Seattle. I like supporting my local small business owners, and I like to pick out movies and go home and watch them right away. I also recently signed up for a library card for the Seattle Public Libraries. Call me old fashioned. But I guess I’m wandering off topic.

The movie I selected was Food Inc. It’s a documentary film brought to the screen by filmmaker Robert Kenner and co-produced by Eric Schlosser (of Fast Food Nation fame). The film exposes the large scale food industry of the United States. It’s an industry that creates chemically altered large-breasted chickens that reach maturity in half the time of a normal Gallus domesticus, can’t walk and never see the light of day. It’s an industry that hides the real cost of foods from the American consumer and helps fuel the epidemic of obesity in our culture. After watching this film, I determined to be a part of the solution. Even if my part is small, at least I’m not going to support a system that pinches good, honest farmers, tortures animals and harms the consumer with chemically infused products that contain significant health hazards.

In season, I produce a wide range of berries and vegetables on my small urban lot. It is a passion, and I love harvesting and cooking directly from my garden. Most urban gardeners, however, don’t grow their own food year-round. If we’re persistent throughout the season, we urban gardeners can enjoy fresh produce from our own soil from about May through November, and hopefully, we store up a few jars of preserves to help stretch the harvest into the winter. Once winter is upon us, we are forced to buy our produce. From the tiny organic section at your local mega-chain grocery to large organic sections at smaller chain high end grocers, one can find organic produce in almost every neighborhood in the city. The fact that organics are available at most stores here in the city is a drastic improvement over even a few years ago, but there are also over a dozen farmers markets sprinkled across the city from Pike Place to West Seattle to Ballard and Lake City, there’s likely a farmers market within five to ten minutes from your front door. These markets sell local, organic products, and they allow you to meet and support local growers.

Last weekend, I visited the Sunday market in Ballard. I must admit that I felt a little weird when determinedly walking up the street toward the market entrance with my clean air recyclable tote in hand, but upon arriving, I found the market full of people from apparently all walks of life. I found a wide demographic of city dwellers out dodging the rain and shopping the market. The one thing people in the market seemed to have in common was that they all appeared to be enjoying themselves. People were happy. Venders called out their wares with a smile while musicians filled the air with their particular brand of goods. Shoppers were either pulled in by the calls or smiled and shook their heads if they were just looking.

I was able to speak directly with every producer that I bought from and with quite a few that I didn’t buy from. Everyone was knowledgeable about their products and willing to chat and give me information. I bought a wide range of products – from organic garlic-herb cheese curds, to hot pepper sauce, to organic honey crisp apples (which were already out of season weeks ago in the grocery stores) and many organic vegetables. All the products that I left the market with were delicious, local, organic and supportive of small farmers in our area.

The cost of products at the farmers market has always been a question for most consumers. The markets have a reputation for quality, fresh produce, but they also have a reputation for costing you an arm and a leg. A statistics class at Seattle University conducted a study in May of 2007 that compared costs at the Broadway farmers market with costs at the Broadway QFC, the nearby Madison Market and several co-ops in the area. The class found that pound for pound, for the same products, the farmers market was actually slightly less expensive than all the other stores. The trick here is that you compare apples to apples. That is to say, sure, you can get a chemically sprayed, waxed pulpy Red Delicious apple at the local grocery for cheaper than an organic, Fuji from the farmers market, but if you compare the same quality, organic products, the farmers market can often hold its own. Once you make the decision to eat local, organic foods, you may find the best place to get them is directly from the growers.

Take the opportunity to support your local farmer, enjoy your shopping experience and maybe even save a little money. When your garden is put to bed for the winter, support those farmers that produce for us all year long. Take a step in the right direction. Shop your local farmers market; develop relationships with the people who produce your food, and support a healthier planet.