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You would be surprised as to how much stuff sold at a farmers market wasn't grown at the farm whose stand you're in front of. At least around here, they're not

You would be surprised as to how much stuff sold at a farmers market wasn't grown at the farm whose stand you're in front of. At least around here, they're not cheap - there's a strong incentive to buy whatever you don't grow so that you can sell it at the farmers market. It's crossed my mind more than once to go into Shaw's, buy a bunch of stuff, and sell it at the farmers market that sets up in that very same parking lot every Saturday. Given that our supermarkets even sell local stuff, I can still call locally grown and not be lying to anyone.

michaelbuckbee 9y ago
I see this with semi-durable foodstuffs like Honey or Jam. Where _maybe_ some of it is from the local, but much of it is from elsewhere.
- SmellTheGlove 9y ago
  With honey it could also be that they process locally, and call it local based on that. You really can't verify anything at all at a farmers market.
ensignavenger 9y ago
The Farmer's Market I used to visit regularly when I lived in the city had a policy of actually visiting the farms before allowing them to become vender's, so check and be sure that they actually had an operation. Of course, that doesn't prevent them from buying extra produce and re-selling it- but nothing stops Whole Foods from mislabeling their produce, either... haven't they been accused of doing this in the past?
jghn 9y ago
I recently popped into a farm stand in NC. This was a stand sitting in front of a farm describing how you could buy their wares. I was suspicious of some of the stuff in the bins as it was out of season, and sure enough I'd see "product of Mexico" stickers on some of the produce. And that's a stand on a farm much less a farmers market.
- SmellTheGlove 9y ago
  I'm in Maine, so at least there'd be some ambiguity there - we have a town called Mexico! Seriously though, the idea is that people want to do their shopping in one place. If you do produce, there's a lot of pressure to stock all of the produce anyone could want, for fear that they won't stop just to buy what you grow.
deleted 9y ago
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michaelbuckbee 9y ago

I see this with semi-durable foodstuffs like Honey or Jam. Where _maybe_ some of it is from the local, but much of it is from elsewhere.

SmellTheGlove 9y ago
With honey it could also be that they process locally, and call it local based on that. You really can't verify anything at all at a farmers market.

ensignavenger 9y ago

The Farmer's Market I used to visit regularly when I lived in the city had a policy of actually visiting the farms before allowing them to become vender's, so check and be sure that they actually had an operation. Of course, that doesn't prevent them from buying extra produce and re-selling it- but nothing stops Whole Foods from mislabeling their produce, either... haven't they been accused of doing this in the past?

jghn 9y ago

I recently popped into a farm stand in NC. This was a stand sitting in front of a farm describing how you could buy their wares. I was suspicious of some of the stuff in the bins as it was out of season, and sure enough I'd see "product of Mexico" stickers on some of the produce. And that's a stand on a farm much less a farmers market.

SmellTheGlove 9y ago
I'm in Maine, so at least there'd be some ambiguity there - we have a town called Mexico! Seriously though, the idea is that people want to do their shopping in one place. If you do produce, there's a lot of pressure to stock all of the produce anyone could want, for fear that they won't stop just to buy what you grow.

deleted 9y ago

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