‘Farm to table’ shopping

With grocery bills and a growing desire to support local small businesses continuing to increase, so is the foot traffic at my humble local farmers markets. Many others in Australia who are desiring to have quality and affordable produce flock to their local farmers markets every week too.

I began ‘farm to table’ shopping last year and would never dream of going back. Prior to, I’d shop at different markets for produce occasionally for the joy of it. But when my work recently became mostly unpaid volunteer work, I’ve had to budget and reconsider how much I spend on quality produce while at the same time seeing the price of almost everything continue to rise.

I’m here to share not only why I enjoy the product of this lifestyle choice (good quality cheap fruit + veg) but also the journey of it. Here are 5 reasons why I shop produce at local farmers markets.

1. It is cheaper

It is undeniably cheaper. When you find small businesses that bring their produce straight from the farm, there is no middle man (the supermarket) making profit on buying and selling the produce.

2. It is fresher

Often supermarkets store their produce in cold rooms for long periods of time to keep it fresh and maintain plenty of stock on hand, on top of often sourcing it from big farms that are far away. Having local produce means that it will be fresher and it hasn’t gone through travel and storage time. This means the produce will have a higher nutrient density. Fresh is best!

3. Better quality

Supermarket produce sourced from big farms designed to make bulk produce often don’t take the best care of their soil, use lots of pesticides/herbicides, clean their produce by dipping them in chemicals, and sometimes add a wax coat for a shiny finish. All of these processes are harmful to our health and decrease the quality of the produce (even though it may look more abundant and colourful). When shopping small local businesses, you have the opportunity to ask about your produce and even enjoy the imperfectness of it too.

4. Relationship

You have the opportunity to build a relationship with your farmer and learn about where what you’re eating came from and the processes it went through.

5. Experience

It’s always a lovely time shopping at the farmers markets. I enjoy seeing what people make and form with their hands as well as the food trucks, live music and vintage treasures.

If you’re feeling inspired to start ‘farm to table shopping’, research to see where you local farmers market is located.