Farmers markets are in full swing with a different Central Oregon farmers market in play nearly every day of the week. Explore your local farmers market options on our online directory.
Are you shopping at your local farmer’s market? Here are some reasons why we think farmers markets are the greatest!
- Social: The farmer’s market is a great place to gather. Visiting is a fun family activity, and you can meet friends and members of your community. Some farmer’s markets even offer entertainment from local talent!
- Farm fresh: Farmer’s market produce is likely harvested within the last 24 hours, so you know the food is as fresh as you can get!
- Ripe: Offerings at the farmer’s market are generally picked at the peak of their ripeness when the plants’ natural sugars are at their peak. Eating produce when it is ripe not only tastes better, but it also provides the best nutrition possible.
- Nutrient Dense: Taste the rainbow! One look at the variety and vivid colors of produce found at the farmer’s market, and you’ll be able to tell just how nutritious the fruits and vegetables are. Many supermarket fruits and vegetables pale in comparison. Vivid colors in fruits and vegetables are a reflection of the nutrients they contain.
- Taste: Try a taste test! Buy a tomato from the supermarket and a tomato from the farmer’s market. Now taste them side-by-side and see what you think. Produce from the farmer’s market almost always tastes better because it is picked at the peak of ripeness.
- Supports local economies: Most farmer’s market produce is grown within 100 miles of the market. This means that the farms are a source of local jobs and likely to spend money they make on their produce in the local economy.
- Supports local family farms: Purchasing fruits and vegetables from farmer’s markets supports local family farms, giving them the valuable capital they need to keep operating.
- Provenance: When you shop at the farmer’s market, you better know where your food has been. You can talk with the farmers to learn about the farm’s growing and processing practices. In many cases, you can even visit the farms to see how they grow and handle the produce you are serving to your family.
You can also visit our Grow & Give farmers market booth at both Northwest Crossing on Saturdays and Downtown Bend on Wednesdays to donate to our fresh food drive! Help us reach our goal of 18,000 pounds of fresh food donated to local hunger relief agencies.
And if you haven’t yet, be sure to check out CROP Rotating Farmers Markets in Crook County! These pop-up markets happen Saturdays throughout the summer.
This post was inspired and adapted from this article by Kimberly Snyder.
