- Schedule your visit to the farmers market: Unlike visiting the supermarket on a whim, your market is likely held once a week. Mark the time in your calendar and make it your weekly routine.
- Bring your own bag: Invest in your own reusable bags to avoid needing to use any plastic. I take a bag for onions and garlic and different bags for greens and fruit.
- Walk through the entire market first: Even though I have my favorite vendors, I still walk through an entire market first then walk back to pick up what I think looks best.
- Get to know your farmers: The farmers put their love and soul into your vegetables. They are your best resources for peak seasons and have fantastic ideas for how to properly store and prepare your vegetables.
- Leave your list at home. Fresh First!: Let the vegetables be your guide and select what looks the freshest, not what you need for a recipe. Once back home with my bags full of vegetables, I make a list of what I bought and then I look up recipes. It helps to match your list of vegetables to a recipe (or plan) for each so that nothing goes to waste because it was forgotten in the bottom of your produce bin (it happens, I know). Since I’ve been doing this every week, I now have a better idea of what I want to make once I see the vegetables in the market and you will, too. Of course you can always just head back to Family and Forks and we will set you up with some easy recipes. 🙂
- Don’t Only Shop Certified Organic: Even though you don’t see “Certified Organic” don’t walk away. Certified Organic is not always your best guide to pesticide-free fruits and vegetables at the farmers market. Ask a farm about their use of pesticides. You might be surprised. I have spoken with several small farms about the process of becoming a Certified Organic farm. It can be very costly and there are several pesticides permitted for use within the certification. Smaller, local farms most often cannot afford to become Certified Organic nor afford pesticides and the damage they can do to their valuable land. Many small farms have started to use the phrase “Beyond Organic” to indicate that they do not use any pesticides at all. I’m not an expert and don’t want to enter the fray of what is a very contentious issue that will likely continue. Best to ask your favorite farm vendors about their practices and use your best judgement.
- Beware of non-local fruit and vegetables: This will probably sound obvious but I’ve seen it so I feel it’s worth mentioning. I live in the Mid-Atlantic region so if I see bananas and pineapples, for example, or other fruits and vegetables obviously not available in the region, or plastic stickers on the produce, I immediately distrust everything and walk away. Be aware of what is in season in your region. Watermelons and tomatoes in February? I don’t think so. Check out Family and Forks’ Vegetables Guides organized by season for reference.