Late Season Farmers’ Market

Fresh produce in November? In New England? It can’t be done!

Oh, but it can, my friend. It can. After our local farmers’ market shut down for the season at the beginning of October, I was just so bummed. I’ve since been supplementing trips to a local farm to buy what’s left of their dwindling harvest, with runs to the conventional grocery store. While the super market hasn’t been all bad – you can find some things grown locally and/or organically – the produce is just not as fresh. Even if the says that the acorn squash was grown in-state, it’s still been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long, losing moisture, flavor and vitamins.

I was just beginning to accept it until today, when I learned that there is another farmers’ market somewhat nearby that is scheduled to last well into the winter. Hooray! I’d thought there must still be some crops coming out of the ground. It’s not like the vegetables decide to stop growing because farmers’ market organizers say the season is over.

We hopped into the car and sped off (or drove leisurely, obeying stop signs and traffic signals along the way) to our destination. There were only a few stalls, but plenty of fresh, local, sustainable produce. And it was cheap! We got leeks, onions, white potatoes, fingerling potatoes, sweet potatoes, bok choy, red lettuce, summer jean, dill, and tomatoes for $25. Nice. There was even a vendor selling local, naturally raised meats. Yay! I picked up two pork chops and some country ribs. I plan to do something with them this week, so stay tuned.

Besides the obvious benefits of shopping at a farmers’ market – fresher product, better nutritional value, environmental sustainability – there’s also something that is so nice about hanging out where people are just generally happy. The customers are happy because they are buying quality and they feel like they’re doing good by supporting local farmers. They are curious and interested. And the vendors are happy because they are proud of their product and making a living at something they are passionate about. They actually want to be there.

Not to keep driving a point home here, but compare all that to the supermarket experience. I’ve never encountered very much enthusiasm and friendliness at the check-out counter. Furthermore, supermarkets have become so far detached from the real that now even the human element has been taken away in some cases, and replaced with what my husband and I call Betty. Betty is the self-checkout computer voice. She’s friendly enough but, boy does she get snippy when you leave an item on the scanner.