Yay for farmer’s markets!
I was very pleased with myself to have been able to buy local, BC grown, and organic foods recently at my local farmer’s market. No hope of finding organic tomatoes this summer, but I did pick up organic potatoes, squash, and broccoli (all they had was organic!). They also had their own butter lettuce and corn, which I bought as well. The mashed potatoes we made with those organic potatoes (79c/lb, golden nugget) were SO GOOD! And the potatoes actually smelled like dirt, unlike the non-organic red ones (69c/lb.. they tend to be cheaper regardless) which… don’t smell like anything. The peppers are BC grown, grown without sprays, and not waxy like BC Hot House peppers. Earlier in the year, we figured the price difference between BC Hot House ($$) and farmer’s market produce (79c/lb for green up to $1.29 for red and yellow — red is on sale for 79c right now) was to do with having to pick through the not-so-good ones for the nice ones. Recently, however, they’ve all been spectacular! And they’re all light-weight.
It felt so wonderful to be there on that sunny day, watching people buy organic produce (sometimes without a choice), but seeing that it wasn’t more expensive. Seriously, 2 weeks ago the broccoli was 89c/lb. Last week it was 89c/lb for organic.
It’s a no-brainer why people crowd to the local market, while Safeway and Superstore’s produce section is ALWAYS nearly devoid of people. The produce they sell is marked up, especially if it’s organic, and the produce they sell that isn’t organic isn’t even good for you. I’m happy about Safeway and President’s Choice’s organic labels, but it rarely seems to apply to fresh produce, and is still expensive. $4 for a 2 lb (908 g) bag of baby carrots. That’s $2/lb! And they’re not even Canadian. Nantes carrots (the big ones, pretty yummy) were 49c/lb. That’s less than 1/4 of the price, and you can get as few or as many as you want, so it’s not wasted — or packaged in plastic. Those weren’t organic, but I bet you the price would be the same.
If you’re already shopping local markets, tell your friends… if they’re still paying exorbitant prices at supermarkets, you’ll be saving them money, reducing their stress (in my opinion), and helping to keep them healthy.