Why a lot of big city farmers markets suck

Kikaida · June 23, 2015

When one thinks of a farmers markets, they think of a small scale mom & pop style farm. Maybe a hobby farm or just a small step up from that. Most don't think mega-farms spanning hundreds of commercial acres. Well the sad truth, in my area at least, is that if you look at the boxes...these are the same boxes you find behind the local big chain grocery stores. The prices are for the most part the same or slightly higher. How can that even be when the distributors have been cut out of the equation? What am I getting that's wholesome and unique? The stuff tastes the same as from the store because it IS the same stuff from the store. Ethically, how can an organizer of a famers market allow this? Some people don't know any better and *think* they are getting some carefully nurtured, small batch *whatever*. The only thing they are getting is snookered. Now aside from a few artisanal type breads and cheeses...Most of it is either commercial farm ho-hum stuff OR bulk acquired items like nuts.

I remember being in Oregon once on the coast in a tiny little community at their farmers market. Everything looked perfectly "imperfect" and one could tell that these people grew these items in their yards or harvested it wild from the woods. That was the best farmers market I've ever been to.

Down here? It's a shame what people will do to make a buck. As if they don't know the game they're playing.

Labradors2 · June 23, 2015

It happens all over. I've been to a few of them that were high-priced rip-offs catering to people who didn't know any better.

Around here we have one that IS locally-grown food, and we are lucky to have them.

Linda

Nematode · June 23, 2015

We got one only local.
15 vendors with garlic scapes and greens.

Kikaida · June 23, 2015

You guys are so lucky. I wish we had that. It just seems so dishonest what people do around here. It's like me going to the 99 cent store and repackaging their bread as artisanal and selling them for $6 a loaf. Maybe I'll speak to the organizer of our local famers market or write a piece for our local paper.

Labradors2 · June 23, 2015

Or better yet, go as a vendor and let people taste some home-grown tomatoes!

Linda

flgatorguy87 · June 23, 2015

Nashville farmers market finally gave the boot to every vendor that wasn't either local or selling their own produce. This removed about 60% of the vendors but I think it will only be a short time before more local purveyors move in the openings. We were just at the market yesterday and there were people from Georgia and S. Carolina but most were all from middle Tennessee. It was pretty bare bones and to my approval it was actually JUST seasonal vegetables and fruit.

The old market was frustrating and I had stopped buying produce there. I went in April to find "local" tomatoes, melons, and corn. I politely asked the "farmer" where he had gotten his produce this early in the year and he wouldn't give me a straight answer....he said "those are from South of here". The thing that really made me mad was him selling collards that were bundled in the same twist ties that you see at the local grocery store (Kroger). It even had the #sku number on it.

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feldon30 · June 23, 2015

Fake farmers markets are a huge pet peeve of mine. I look for the cartons, the PLU codes, the seasonality of what they're displaying, and try to guess the provenance of the produce.

Kikaida · June 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labradors2

Or better yet, go as a vendor and let people taste some home-grown tomatoes!

Linda

You made me smile. My tomato growing skills have a loooong way to go to get to the point of you gurus!

Glad I'm not alone with this, thanks for the great replies!

This reminds me, growing up as a kid in Hawai'i I clearly remember the vegetable truck driving slowly down the street and my grandmother buying the days vegetables. I remember the old scale with the arm in the middle and 20 rows of text behind the glass. Everything was yard grown or forest picked...bugs and all. Didn't matter, that's just how it was. I miss those days. What he didn't have, we typically had on a tree or bush or a neighbor had what ever it was we needed. Just picked it.

Nematode · June 23, 2015

Mine was a little tongue in cheek.
Up north we dont have a lot of variety in our spring produce, and it can be a hard job for the market manager to strike a balance between authenticity and keeping enough traffic for the real farmers to make a go of it.
That said I am with you on the grocery store produce cartons at the farmers market. Dont like it one bit.
Find the market manager and express your view. You might be surprised at their response. I promise you they are not doing it for the money.

Kikaida · June 23, 2015

Part of the problem where I live is that the mega-farms of central California are just "over the hill" so to speak. Seems a lot of migrant workers just grab a few cases of this or that, put up a tent and sell whatever it was they picked for the week. Or grab what ever just flew into the distribution center. Too bad I didn't know people that grew more...we could setup a backyard market or better yet, trade amongst our selves as quantities would obviously be small.
-
I can't wait for retirement and my 5-10 acres where I can grow all I desire.

MrsJustice · June 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kikaida

When one thinks of a farmers markets, they think of a small scale mom & pop style farm. Maybe a hobby farm or just a small step up from that. Most don't think mega-farms spanning hundreds of commercial acres. Well the sad truth, in my area at least, is that if you look at the boxes...these are the same boxes you find behind the local big chain grocery stores. The prices are for the most part the same or slightly higher. How can that even be when the distributors have been cut out of the equation? What am I getting that's wholesome and unique? The stuff tastes the same as from the store because it IS the same stuff from the store. Ethically, how can an organizer of a famers market allow this? Some people don't know any better and *think* they are getting some carefully nurtured, small batch *whatever*. The only thing they are getting is snookered. Now aside from a few artisanal type breads and cheeses...Most of it is either commercial farm ho-hum stuff OR bulk acquired items like nuts.

I remember being in Oregon once on the coast in a tiny little community at their farmers market. Everything looked perfectly "imperfect" and one could tell that these people grew these items in their yards or harvested it wild from the woods. That was the best farmers market I've ever been to.

Down here? It's a shame what people will do to make a buck. As if they don't know the game they're playing.

I understand your Pain and concerns, because sad Big Business Competitors are cutting and destroying good Farmers who grow unique and pure fruits and Vegetables. The hard working farmers like myself growing Historical Vegetables organically are easily destroy by powerful people who wants super market type of Vegetables and Hybrids. I have up years ago trying to set up at local Farmers Markets. It to easy for the Powerful to destroy good farmers. It hard growing organic and pure heirloom crops. We Heirloom Farmers have no protections from the Powerful. So the Hybrids "Win-out in most Farmer Markets.

CamuMahubah · July 31, 2015

If I ever make it to Cali i'm gonna buy as many dry farmed "dirty girls" as I can afford.

Just look for "dry farmed early girls" in Cali.

And I really had no idea that big business had invaded the farmer's markets. Shows how naive I am.

Wi-sunflower · July 31, 2015

At my main market, all produce is SUPPOSED to be grown by the seller. For the most part it is. Most of the farmers grow less than 50 acres, other than the couple of big sweet corn growers.

But many of us have been complaining for years about 1 group of growers that consistently push the rules well over the line. But whenever anyone complains, the "inspection" never finds anything wrong. The reason is because the couple that do the inspections. 20 years ago the wife was the market manager and as an "outreach" program, SHE got them into the market. All fine and good back then for people that had no other skills. But now we are on second and third generation of these people. They should have some other skills by now, other than cheating their customers.

Carol

Worth1 · July 31, 2015

We have a place called Central Market in Austin.
It is owned by HEB which is the area grocery chain in Texas.
Many of the same things they have at HEB are at Central Market but at a higher price.
But yet people still go to the high priced place instead, it makes them feel like they are special and above the poor people going to the other store.
Are you going to be like the little boy in the story The Emperors New Clothes and bust these peoples fantasy.

Hey look everybody this is the same stuff they are selling at the store.

I could see all of the arms and hands stopping in mid pick and looking at you.

The whole place just going dead quiet.

Do these people know the truth and just choose to not say anything because it makes them feel nostalgic to go to market like the old days.

Please dont tear down their facade.

Just a few thoughts and an attempt at humor this morning.

Worth

BigVanVader · July 31, 2015

At the big market near me (Spartanburg S.C.) it is supposed to be producer only market but the catch is as long as it was grown in SC they don't really care. Some guy was selling Bonnie plants this Spring with the tags still on them, but since Bonnie plants has a wholesale greenhouse nearby I was told he could do that. I don't understand why they call it producer only if you can sell things others "produced" or grew. Just call it what it is.

The other thing that makes me angry is that most of the sellers are young kids working for huge commercial farms and they have no idea what varieties they are selling or anything about anything. Frustrating when I may want to save seeds from a variety I see and they have no clue if it is even OP or hybrid. Guess I should stop ranting but it is frustrating for small growers trying to do what they love.

June 23, 2015	#1
Kikaida Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Valencia, CA Posts: 258	Why a lot of big city farmers markets suck When one thinks of a farmers markets, they think of a small scale mom & pop style farm. Maybe a hobby farm or just a small step up from that. Most don't think mega-farms spanning hundreds of commercial acres. Well the sad truth, in my area at least, is that if you look at the boxes...these are the same boxes you find behind the local big chain grocery stores. The prices are for the most part the same or slightly higher. How can that even be when the distributors have been cut out of the equation? What am I getting that's wholesome and unique? The stuff tastes the same as from the store because it IS the same stuff from the store. Ethically, how can an organizer of a famers market allow this? Some people don't know any better and think they are getting some carefully nurtured, small batch whatever. The only thing they are getting is snookered. Now aside from a few artisanal type breads and cheeses...Most of it is either commercial farm ho-hum stuff OR bulk acquired items like nuts. I remember being in Oregon once on the coast in a tiny little community at their farmers market. Everything looked perfectly "imperfect" and one could tell that these people grew these items in their yards or harvested it wild from the woods. That was the best farmers market I've ever been to. Down here? It's a shame what people will do to make a buck. As if they don't know the game they're playing.

June 23, 2015	#7
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Fake farmers markets are a huge pet peeve of mine. I look for the cartons, the PLU codes, the seasonality of what they're displaying, and try to guess the provenance of the produce. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

June 23, 2015	#2
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,895	It happens all over. I've been to a few of them that were high-priced rip-offs catering to people who didn't know any better. Around here we have one that IS locally-grown food, and we are lucky to have them. Linda

June 23, 2015	#3
Nematode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: massachusetts Posts: 1,710	We got one only local. 15 vendors with garlic scapes and greens.

June 23, 2015	#6
flgatorguy87 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Pleasant View, TN Posts: 66	Nashville farmers market finally gave the boot to every vendor that wasn't either local or selling their own produce. This removed about 60% of the vendors but I think it will only be a short time before more local purveyors move in the openings. We were just at the market yesterday and there were people from Georgia and S. Carolina but most were all from middle Tennessee. It was pretty bare bones and to my approval it was actually JUST seasonal vegetables and fruit. The old market was frustrating and I had stopped buying produce there. I went in April to find "local" tomatoes, melons, and corn. I politely asked the "farmer" where he had gotten his produce this early in the year and he wouldn't give me a straight answer....he said "those are from South of here". The thing that really made me mad was him selling collards that were bundled in the same twist ties that you see at the local grocery store (Kroger). It even had the #sku number on it. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

July 31, 2015	#12
CamuMahubah Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Alliance Nebraska Posts: 169	If I ever make it to Cali i'm gonna buy as many dry farmed "dirty girls" as I can afford. Just look for "dry farmed early girls" in Cali. And I really had no idea that big business had invaded the farmer's markets. Shows how naive I am.

July 31, 2015	#13
Wi-sunflower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,591	At my main market, all produce is SUPPOSED to be grown by the seller. For the most part it is. Most of the farmers grow less than 50 acres, other than the couple of big sweet corn growers. But many of us have been complaining for years about 1 group of growers that consistently push the rules well over the line. But whenever anyone complains, the "inspection" never finds anything wrong. The reason is because the couple that do the inspections. 20 years ago the wife was the market manager and as an "outreach" program, SHE got them into the market. All fine and good back then for people that had no other skills. But now we are on second and third generation of these people. They should have some other skills by now, other than cheating their customers. Carol

July 31, 2015	#14
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	We have a place called Central Market in Austin. It is owned by HEB which is the area grocery chain in Texas. Many of the same things they have at HEB are at Central Market but at a higher price. But yet people still go to the high priced place instead, it makes them feel like they are special and above the poor people going to the other store. Are you going to be like the little boy in the story The Emperors New Clothes and bust these peoples fantasy. Hey look everybody this is the same stuff they are selling at the store. I could see all of the arms and hands stopping in mid pick and looking at you. The whole place just going dead quiet. Do these people know the truth and just choose to not say anything because it makes them feel nostalgic to go to market like the old days. Please dont tear down their facade. Just a few thoughts and an attempt at humor this morning. Worth

July 31, 2015	#15
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	At the big market near me (Spartanburg S.C.) it is supposed to be producer only market but the catch is as long as it was grown in SC they don't really care. Some guy was selling Bonnie plants this Spring with the tags still on them, but since Bonnie plants has a wholesale greenhouse nearby I was told he could do that. I don't understand why they call it producer only if you can sell things others "produced" or grew. Just call it what it is. The other thing that makes me angry is that most of the sellers are young kids working for huge commercial farms and they have no idea what varieties they are selling or anything about anything. Frustrating when I may want to save seeds from a variety I see and they have no clue if it is even OP or hybrid. Guess I should stop ranting but it is frustrating for small growers trying to do what they love.