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Farmer’s Market
August 16, 2008
I went to the Farmer’s Market in Muskegon this morning. I haven’t been to a farmer’s market in several years mostly because I just don’t think of it. But I’m tired of the junk produce I’ve been finding in the grocery store, especially considering it is the middle of the summer. So this morning I made it a point to get up early, grabbed my camera and a couple of Whole Foods shopping bags (I got these in Rhode Island as we have no Whole Foods in West Michigan, but that’s a whole other subject…) and headed out while the sun was still rising.
{click any photo for larger image at Flickr…}
At first I was a little disappointed because when I got there shortly after 7:00 a.m., the tables were pretty bare as a lot of the vendors were still setting up. My recollection of going to the farmer’s market years ago was that this was an early morning affair and by the time 10:00 a.m. came around everyone was packing up and heading to breakfast. Apparently the time frame has shifted a little later in the day. But while initially disappointed by the slow start, being early turned out to be a good thing because without so many people around it is much easier to compare prices and find some good deals. It’s also easier to get pictures when the aisles are not so crowded. In addition to the traditional booths with produce, baked goods and flowers, there were vendors selling handmade items like rugs (gorgeous!), candles, wreaths, wooden toys and doll cloths. I decided to stick to food and came home with a loaf of homemade rye bread from a sweet young Amish woman, tomatoes, green beans, peppers, onions, sweet corn, little red new potatoes, a cantaloupe and the last of the season’s sweet cherries. A display of plump, delicious-looking raspberries initially caught my eye, but at $5.00 for a pint, I sadly passed them by. I had really wanted a watermelon, but the best deal I could find was $6.00 for a medium-sized melon and that just seemed like too much so I opted for a really handsome cantaloupe for $2.75 (most booth were selling them for $3.50 each).
Although there was no shortage of fresh goodness to be had, I came away with the impression that bargains were a little scarce. Now I like buying direct from farmers and crafters (oh yeh, me and Etsy, we have a solid relationship going) mostly because I’d rather give my money directly to the person responsible for bringing me the goods instead of the middle man like Wal-Mart or even Meijer, but also because I expect to get a little better price when I am cutting out the middle man. Sure I realize that the producer needs to make money and times are tough for everyone, but I feel a little ripped off when he’s selling me stuff for the same price or more than I could pay in the store, considering the store is getting a generous cut of what I buy there. But I came home with a loaf of bread and a bag full of very fresh and pretty produce (all except those cherries which were definitely looking like end-of-season fruit) for around $20.00 so I can’t really complain about that. I think I need to make this a part of my Saturday morning routine heading into fall. I’m already anticipating fresh green beans, sweet corn and cantaloupe for dinner this evening… I’m just hoping Randy remembers to pick up the steaks.
Posted by Deb
Topics: around town, food, interesting places