The country is exploding with new farmers markets! More and more of us are shopping at farmers markets -- many of us for the first time. How's it done? What's it like?
My first memory of farm-fresh vegetables comes from a decidedly unbustling place, a farm stand that stood hot and unprotected from sun and road dust at the edge of the still-unpaved road to the lake, a small space carved out of a farm field, the farmhouse itself hidden behind trees up a long driveway. The wooden stall was unmanned and payment was on the "honor system" -- a coffee can with a slit in the plastic top, cash only, of course, except for the occasional IOU. I suspect that the stall double-dutied as a school bus shelter during northern Minnesota's long winters.
These days, farmers markets are big business but mostly, still-charming and local endeavors that rise to life one day a week during the growing season. Many towns, even small towns, have their own farmers markets. When I started writing A Veggie Venture in 2005, there were two farmers markets in the St. Louis area -- the granddaddy of them all, Soulard Market, which claims to be the oldest farmers market west of the Mississippi River and a weekly year-round Saturday stop for me during my first ten years living here; and my hometown market, Kirkwood Market. Now St. Louis has 39 markets -- 39! -- across the metro area. (Here's St. Louis Post-Dispatch list of local farmers markets.)
With the explosion of new farmers markets, this means that many of us are venturing into farmers markets for the first time, not knowing exactly what to expect, what we might encounter, what's there to bring home. I've been writing this post in my head for three years, collecting tips and ideas in pixels the whole time and now, have finally put them all into cogent (I hope!) form.
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