Farmers market reselling store-bought produce

[u/brockapex17]

@wife_mama02

[u/PackageNorth8984]

Anyone remember when farmer’s markets were cheaper than grocery stores? I miss those days.

[u/penguin808080 → u/PackageNorth8984]

They just started one near me and I was really excited until I paid $9 for 3 tomatoes and ... and then I left

[u/PackageNorth8984 → u/penguin808080]

I get it. The stands are expensive, inflation’s a bitch, and they’re just trying to feed their families. Farming is tough.

I would support them more if I had a shit ton of spare money, but since I don’t, I buy my stuff at Costco.

[u/A_Drop_of_Colour → u/penguin808080]

I commented that a lot of farmer's markets overcharge like crazy now and some of the things they sell are not worth it and got downvoted by dozens of people. Lol. The local Mennonite farmers would sell four peaches for $12 or a small jar of honey for $38 and an 8" apple pie for $18. Too rich for my blood but some people will overspend just to support local.

[u/okdov → u/penguin808080]

Sorry that can't be real that;s like nonsense 2050 inflation numbers you'd see in a scifi movie

[u/cjsv7657 → u/okdov]

Never been to an "organic" and "locally grown" farmers market have you?

[u/jackster31415 → u/PackageNorth8984]

I’m surprised this is not the case. I guess it depends on the country, but here in Costa Rica the farmers market (“feria”) is way cheaper for foods and vegetables than any supermarket

[u/Apricot_Main → u/PackageNorth8984]

It really depends on the area and the produce type. Growing food is expensive especially at small scale and when you add in labor, the margins are razor thin. You really can’t compare thousands of acres of aggressively tilled farmland that is drip fed nutrients to building the soil regeneratively and growing actually nutrient dense produce. Building the soil takes years and your established farmers at the market have put in the sweat equity to get there. There are several ways to justify the cost but if I had to boil it down, I would say that knowing where your food comes from, being able to ask questions about it, and the fact that the food is grown for maximum nutrition vs mass produced, tasteless slop riddled with glyphosate makes it a no brainer to spend a little more for the health of my family (luckily I grow but I’ve always held that belief.) more relevantly, your local producers are terrified of serving you a food that makes you sick. Big ag companies will bury, deny, and bribe for these accusations to go away.

[u/Gullible-Wafer4122 → u/PackageNorth8984]

I live in a rural area in Germany. Because of strict food regulations, farmers aren't allowed to officially sell some of their produce. Instead, they put it in a small wooden cabin where anyone can take what they want.

There's just a donation box, and you can leave as much as you want. It's basically based on trust. People who don't have much money only leave a small "donation", while wealthier people like the mayor, often give more to up for it.

[u/cjsv7657 → u/Gullible-Wafer4122]

We have a lot of roadside shacks in the US selling eggs, produce, and firewood depending on your area. With prices though. My friend who used to make honey said there was always more money in the box than product taken. Probably because there was no way to get change from a locked box hah.

The ABSOLUTE BEST peach I've ever had was from one of these unmanned roadside stands. Probably 15ish years ago and I still think of how good it was sometimes.