Farmers Markets: Are They Really Worth It?

Seattle seems to be very blessed with many farmers markets. In fact Pike Place Market is likely one of the most famous Farmers Market in all of the world. Aside from Pike Place the Seattle area alone has at least 10 other farmers markets 3 of which are open year round. Not to mention the other 40 farmers markets in the Puget Sound Area. By definition the majority of these markets contain nothing but fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meats, breads and similar products all fresh, in season, organic and local.

The last sentence is probably the most telling. It contains some of the most fashionable food words of the current food movements. Yeah I've read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. I know local is suppose to be better, we should try to eat as much real food as possible, don't trust something just because it says it's local or organic. Support your local farmers, save the environment. Yadda yadda yadda.

So today I went to my favorite farmers market in the district U-district. I liked casually wandering around the small market on a mild sunny Saturday afternoon. It wasn't too crowded. The local producers all seemed bountiful. Truth be told there are a lot of things I really love about this market. My favorite vendor is the Japanese farmers from Mair Farm Taki. They have the best and widest variety of kabocha I have ever seen, they make sublime spicy miso pickles, and their Japanese watermelon is so freakin red, juicy and tasty it puts all other watermelon to shame. There is also Appel Farms who has some of the best cheese ever. The cumin gouda, any of their quarks and their tomato basil feta are all winners in my book. In fact all of the cheese vendors are pretty amazing. Emipre Ice Cream is also outstanding with such flavors as Heart Attack (bacon blue cheese) or blueberry hyssop. Oh and I can't forget the vegan tamale people.
Finally there is Sea Breaze Farm for all of those snout to tail aficionados. I personally have not yet been taken into the fold yet but their stocks are amazing. Filled with so much good bone marrow that it is a very soft jelly until it is melting into soups and sauces. Their meats are the crown jem of all of the market though. Just by looking at them you can tell they were well cared for pigs chickens and cows. That were butched with care and then cured aged or roasted to perfection. I say look because well I simply can't afford the meat.

That's the problem though isn't it? Are farmers markets worth it? Well I certainly enjoy going to the market. Not because of the warm fuzzy feeling of helping out the local business owner, or reducing the impact on the evironment by supporting farms that are gowing organic and driving less to bring me my food. Frankly I don't care much about that stuff. It is all gimmick to me. What does matter to me is getting the best food I can on the budget I have.

So I guess here I have to be a bit honest. I could safely say that I probably spend at least $ 80 a week on food for just two people. I don't know if that is a lot for one weeks worth of groceries. It seems high. That $80 mostly entails fresh non organic non locally grown fruits and veggies from the local super market, meat (also from the same place and under the same conditions) and milk. We don't really buy much junk food. I cook most of our meals from scratch and I don't typically buy what's on sale I buy what is on the current weeks menu.

So keeping all of this in mind is the farmers markets worth it? Yes to some extent. First of all farmers markets are fun. Just going around sampling everything is a really great way to spend a lazy weekend morning or afternoon. Also farmers markets are great places to try new foods that otherwise we might have missed. By going to markets and avoiding super markets it is easier to avoid all of the junk food. Also I think it is true to some extent that the food at the farmers markets does taste better then the stuff from the super markets. I don't know why. Maybe it is because the people selling the stuff are the same ones that toiled over it and the success of the final sale has a direct impact on their livelihoods.

At the same time I like eating whatever I want whenever I want. If I want strawberries in the middle of December damn it I will buy them. Farmers markets aren't the sort of places where I can do all of my shopping. In fact I spent $40 dollars today and I only got half the stuff I needed for the week. Yeah I could have bought the meat and milk I needed at the farmers market as well but I simply don't want to shell out $10 per pound of meat I need. Or spend three times as much on half the amount of milk my fiance and I consume in a week. Farmers markets and super markets have their places in the food chain. The farmers market itself has to be considered too. Not all farmers markets are created equal. I like the U-District one because it has FOOD in it. Not someone's stupid art work. I can't eat art work. Unless their art work is the above mentioned cheese or aged meat.

Farmers markets aren't for everyone perhaps. Or at least not all the time. They are fun as a sustainable novelty. A place to go for a fun local food adventure, special treats or for impressing people at an upcomming dinning engagement.

It is good to treat yourself sometimes.