Farmer's Market Foray

I decided to walk to the local Farmer's Market. Healthy, fresh produce, locally grown, and it's right down the same street as my house. Then I realized it's actually about 2.5 miles down the street!  So I drove.

I think this particular market is more flea than farmer.  There were about ten craft booths for every one produce booth.  Overall I thought it was too expensive and time-consuming, but it was fun to see.  $7.00 for a loaf of bread? $5.00 for a quart of berries?  I could have had a breakfast burrito for "only" $5.00.  

I had gone with the determination not to spend more than $20, and I stuck with it.  

After spending an hour and fifteen minutes, this is what I got at the Farmer's Market: 

Two splendid tomatoes, $1.00

1 nice cauliflower, $2.00

5 average-looking radishes, $0.50
1 tasty loaf of whole wheat bread, $3.00.
1 smaller loaf of butter bread, $1.50
1 crepe filled with mashed potatoes and a touch of mushroom, which I ate on the spot, $1.00.  It wasn't all that good.





1 yellow squash and 1 cousa squash (something new to try) $1.50.
 1 dollar donation to the Girl Scouts to help the people of Joplin--$1.00.

Free Stuff:
1 tip on a bicycle club for beginners
1 reusable grocery bag with a credit union logo
1 coupon for $7 off the haircut I was planning to get later in the day
Several "taste" samples--cheese, granola, a strawberry, etc.
A very red face from the heat and sun.

1 compliment on my hat! 

1 long wait for a train to move slowly through the middle of the market. Priceless.

I used to wonder how in the world hobos ever got on a moving train, but I was sorely tempted to try it myself--up one side and down the other--just because the wait was so long and the train so slow.

Total Spent: $11.50.

When I went to get the haircut, there was about a 25-minute wait, so I went to the discount grocery next door and spent the rest of my $20 on a cantaloupe, a pint of blueberries, a bunch of bananas, 3 peaches, and a 16-oz. bottle of cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil.

Not bad for a couple hours of shopping. I got in quite a bit of strolling at the farmer's market, plus a 3-block walk each way to my car.

Will I do it again? Maybe. They had some cute bracelets that would make a good gift for someone on my list, or maybe even myself, at a really good price.  It wasn't on my list to buy things like that today.  Over all though, I think I can write it off my list of things I've always wanted to do. It's a shorter walk to go to my local air-conditioned grocery store, and perhaps the gas used offsets the benefits of buying local. Not to mention that I am not too wild about crowds. The picture below is from last year's market.