- If you don’t have a favorite vendor, walk through the market and scan all of the vendors. Take a look at the produce and find what’s on your list, you’ll undoubtedly have many stalls to choose from!
- Bring a grocery list, but be open to what’s fresh and unique.
- Bring reusable shopping bags, regular bags recycled from your last trip to the store, or just bring a favorite tote or backpack.
- Bring small bills. You probably won’t be spending a ton of money at any one stand and having the vendor break a $20 for a $2 purchase can put a damper on their change situation.
- Talk to the stall vendors. Ask them about their produce. Ask them about good ways to prepare them. They’ll love sharing their knowledge with you.
- Keep your eyes open for recipes. You’ll find them at the Information Booth and at many of the vendor stalls.
- Don’t forget the craft vendors. These items make terrific, one-of-a-kind holiday and birthday presents.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tips for Farmers Market Shopping
Tips for Farmers Market Shopping
Choose SFM, Support Sammamish!
Choose the Sammamish Farmers Market, Support Sammamish!
Every Summer Wednesday outside of Sammamish’s City Hall you’ll find the local Farmers Market. Several local farmers and craft makers converge on the area and offer up a wide variety of goodness: fruits, vegetables, yummy bread and baked goods, delectable prepared dinners, delicious deserts, fresh flowers, and artisan crafts. Shopping at this truly local market is not only a pleasure, but also a fabulous way to support our local economy while getting to know your community at the same time. Here are a few other reasons to choose the Sammamish Farmers Market (SFM).
Local Farms, Local Businesses
If you, like me, live on a street peppered with unemployed neighbors, recently laid off by large corporations, you’re the perfect candidate to shop at your local farmer’s market. Supermarkets have been shutting down local farms for years, so supporting our local farmers market is a meaningful way to support your local farms and businesses. Sure the corporations care a little bit about the neighborhoods they’re in, but it’s not on the same level as the truly local business owners who live and breathe their livelihood in their own neighborhood. At SFM everything is grown or made in Washington. Buying at the SFM puts your dollars directly into the pocket of a local merchant, not a large, dispassionate corporation.
Better Buying Experience
Isn’t it more fun to buy your produce from a friendly, knowledgeable person that you get to know a little bit better each week? At SFM it’s often the owner’s family running the stand. They are a great resource to not only learn about the produce that you’re buying, but to learn about growing seasons and favorite recipes. Who doesn’t want a new recipe to liven up the family dinner table? Especially one that’s recommended by the people that actually grow the produce. That’s a meal worth enjoying.
Conserve Fuel
Don’t make the 40 minute round trip drive off the Plateau. Stay here and choose the SFM instead! You personally can save fuel, cost, and the environment by choosing your local market instead of the other farmers markets located further away.
Right now fuel prices are relatively low, and we may not feel a huge pinch at the pump. But the bigger issue is in the fuel required to transport the produce to grocery stores. Agricultural corporations and manufactured foods are big business. Since fuel prices have been so low for so long, we got used to buying out of season fruits and vegetables because we could import them from places where they were in season. Now that prices have increased, we’re finding out of season produce to be much more expensive than they used to be, which can be a good thing. By buying local, you ensure you’re getting something that was produced relatively close by, which consumed less fuel getting here.
Interested in Organic?
Small, local farms tend to be run by farmers who live on their land and work hard to preserve it. Buying local means you can talk directly to the farmer growing your food and find out what they do and how they do it. Are they a Certified Organic grower? If they're not certified organic, ask them why. Many small farms, even if they haven't taken the (often expensive and lengthy) certification step, still utilize organic or pesticide free farming methods, ensuring chemical-free produce.
Need More Reasons?
Consider the unbeatable freshness and unmatched flavor that locally grown foods bring to your table. There’s nothing quite like a tart heritage tomato, a fragrant tree-ripened peach, or crisp green lettuce. How about the unique blonde raspberries or artisan purple garlic? Can you just can’t beat the flavor and crunch of apples that reached their peak in the sun, not in a refrigerated trailer.
So the next time that you’re making a grocery list, be sure to choose products from the SFM. Not only will you get to enjoy some unique music and pleasant weather, you’ll be making a choice that supports both your community and your health. Come to the SFM today!
Every Summer Wednesday outside of Sammamish’s City Hall you’ll find the local Farmers Market. Several local farmers and craft makers converge on the area and offer up a wide variety of goodness: fruits, vegetables, yummy bread and baked goods, delectable prepared dinners, delicious deserts, fresh flowers, and artisan crafts. Shopping at this truly local market is not only a pleasure, but also a fabulous way to support our local economy while getting to know your community at the same time. Here are a few other reasons to choose the Sammamish Farmers Market (SFM).
Local Farms, Local Businesses
If you, like me, live on a street peppered with unemployed neighbors, recently laid off by large corporations, you’re the perfect candidate to shop at your local farmer’s market. Supermarkets have been shutting down local farms for years, so supporting our local farmers market is a meaningful way to support your local farms and businesses. Sure the corporations care a little bit about the neighborhoods they’re in, but it’s not on the same level as the truly local business owners who live and breathe their livelihood in their own neighborhood. At SFM everything is grown or made in Washington. Buying at the SFM puts your dollars directly into the pocket of a local merchant, not a large, dispassionate corporation.
Better Buying Experience
Isn’t it more fun to buy your produce from a friendly, knowledgeable person that you get to know a little bit better each week? At SFM it’s often the owner’s family running the stand. They are a great resource to not only learn about the produce that you’re buying, but to learn about growing seasons and favorite recipes. Who doesn’t want a new recipe to liven up the family dinner table? Especially one that’s recommended by the people that actually grow the produce. That’s a meal worth enjoying.
Conserve Fuel
Don’t make the 40 minute round trip drive off the Plateau. Stay here and choose the SFM instead! You personally can save fuel, cost, and the environment by choosing your local market instead of the other farmers markets located further away.
Right now fuel prices are relatively low, and we may not feel a huge pinch at the pump. But the bigger issue is in the fuel required to transport the produce to grocery stores. Agricultural corporations and manufactured foods are big business. Since fuel prices have been so low for so long, we got used to buying out of season fruits and vegetables because we could import them from places where they were in season. Now that prices have increased, we’re finding out of season produce to be much more expensive than they used to be, which can be a good thing. By buying local, you ensure you’re getting something that was produced relatively close by, which consumed less fuel getting here.
Interested in Organic?
Small, local farms tend to be run by farmers who live on their land and work hard to preserve it. Buying local means you can talk directly to the farmer growing your food and find out what they do and how they do it. Are they a Certified Organic grower? If they're not certified organic, ask them why. Many small farms, even if they haven't taken the (often expensive and lengthy) certification step, still utilize organic or pesticide free farming methods, ensuring chemical-free produce.
Need More Reasons?
Consider the unbeatable freshness and unmatched flavor that locally grown foods bring to your table. There’s nothing quite like a tart heritage tomato, a fragrant tree-ripened peach, or crisp green lettuce. How about the unique blonde raspberries or artisan purple garlic? Can you just can’t beat the flavor and crunch of apples that reached their peak in the sun, not in a refrigerated trailer.
So the next time that you’re making a grocery list, be sure to choose products from the SFM. Not only will you get to enjoy some unique music and pleasant weather, you’ll be making a choice that supports both your community and your health. Come to the SFM today!
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