Selling at a Farmers' Market

I'll Subscribe to That
Community Supported Agriculture is like a subscription to your local farm: You make a financial contribution to a nearby farm and, in return, you're supplied with weekly bundles of fresh, in-season produce, herbs, flowers, eggs, milk and other products from that farm. CSAs usually run from late spring until early fall, but the schedule depends on the farm and where you live.

Your local farmers' market might be half a dozen tables set up for a few hours in a parking lot or a more permanent setup where many vendors gather in a building. But all farmers' markets are made up of local farmers who sell their produce directly to the public -- minus the middleman. You'll find vendors with booths stocked full of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, dairy, cheese and eggs, herbs and flowers all raised and grown on the farm and very likely harvested within the last 24 hours. Some farmers' market associations -- each market has a group of stakeholders to oversee its rules and regulations -- also allow extras such as baked goods, honey, jams and jellies, maple syrup, cider, vinegar, plants and crafts.

A man carries produce at a farmers' market.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Consumers like farmers' markets because they can purchase fresh produce and chat with the people who grew it.

The 100-Mile Diet
Imagine driving your breakfast from Dallas to New York City every day before eating it. Your food typically travels that distance -- about 1,500 miles (2,414 km) -- before ending up in your kitchen. Even organic produce may travel long distances on its journey to your local grocery store.

The 100-Mile Diet -- in which followers eat foods grown only within a 100-mile radius from home -- is an experiment some people around the country are trying. They hope the diet will reduce the use of fossil fuels, contribute to their local community and give them a better understanding of where their food comes from. Farmers' markets, community supported agriculture (CSAs) and even backyard gardens provide local foods for people trying to leave a small carbon footprint.

Choosing a hyper-local, seasonally based diet doesn't come easy, though. Some of your favorite foods, such as salt, black pepper, wheat, coffee and chocolate are not likely to be local foods.

Shopping at a farmers' market is good for you, your local farmers and your community. The locally grown fresh foods are often healthier than what you find in grocery stores, and you have the opportunity to get to know the faces behind the foods you eat. Want to know how the farmer keeps pests away or gets a higher yield? Ask him as you browse through his booth. Local farmers are happy to talk to you about their farming practices -- and maybe even share recipes.

Buying and selling at farmers' markets also helps your local economy and the environment. Buying foods from local farmers and businesses keeps revenues close to home and, in turn, provides jobs in the community. It allows farmers to earn fair prices for their products by eliminating additional processing, transportation and other middleman costs.

When farmers who are within a limited radius from your town sell you their foods, the miles your food travels before it arrives on your plate -- known as food miles -- are reduced. Farmers' markets also make a good venue for community education about nutrition, diet and food preparation.

The local foods at the farmers' market may or may not be organic. In a 2002 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) survey of 210 farmers' markets, 1,416 out of 4,681 participating farmers were organic growers [source: USDA]. Some small organic farms don't apply for organic certification because the cost of certification isn't financially possible for them. But you may find that a farmer's offerings are organic -- even though they don't carry the label -- when you ask about his or her growing practices. (For more information about local versus organic foods, read Is it better to buy local or organic food?)

Next, let's find out who sells their goods at farmers' markets. And what else can you do at a farmers' market other than buying produce?