Add variety to your diet while supporting the community !
Eat Fresh and Support Local Growers!
Eating with the season is a satisfying way to explore different fruits and vegetables and diversify your diet. They taste great and often cost less than their out-of-season counterparts sold in the grocery store. That’s why there is no better place to find fresh, seasonal, nutritious, and different foods than at your local farmer’s market! You’ll find a variety of options and connect with the amazing growers who grow the crops while also benefiting the environment. Stay tuned next week for one of our favorite farm-fresh recipes to utilize the plentiful cucumbers you are sure to take home.
Why Shop at the Farmers Market?
In the spring, we highlighted the benefits of supporting local farmers through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). However, if CSA memberships weren’t a good fit for you, shopping at the farmers market is more flexible while still benefiting the environment and community. You can reduce the distance your food has to travel, connect with your community growers, support the local economy, and add diversity to your diet – not to mention support multiple vendors in one spot! For example, you might make the trip to get your favorite vegetables and herbs – but get the opportunity to try other unique crops. Farmers plant various crops to balance and benefit the soil like celeriac, kohlrabi, daikon, salsify, and sunchoke! You can also find numerous new varieties of familiar foods like radish, squash, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and so many more.
Some of Our Favorite Unique Foods From Local Farms!
Celeriac Root helps break up tough soil but is also delicious! You can eat it raw (like celery) or cooked like you would other root veggies. It has a taste similar to celery which it’s related to, and is nutrient dense in vitamins C, K, B-6, Potassium, Fiber and more! Watermelon Radish adds beautiful color to the kitchen and is also packed with nutrients. This root vegetable is high in calcium, vitamin C, and adds a juicy crisp flavor when raw but can also be roasted. It is harder to transport for mass markets but a favorite of the Farmer’s Market. Squash & Pumpkins are a favorite for later summer and fall nutrition. Our kitchen loves how many different varieties we receive. Some unique ones include Delicata, Blue Hubbard, Red Kuri, Carnival Squashes – Cheese, Blaze, and Pie Pumpkins!
Find Your Local Market
Scroll through this guide by Valley Table of Farmers Markets sorted by county to find the options nearest you. Some are even available year round! Or if you’re looking for something more specific try using the USDA Local Food Directory – you can search for Farmers Markets, CSA, On-Farm Sales, specific food available and more!
Want to Eat Farm Fresh All Year *and* Reduce Food Waste?
It might sound contradictory, but you can eat locally grown food all year! The Farmer’s Market is a fantastic way to purchase items at their peak and preserve them for later. Especially heavy producers like tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini, or fruits with a shorter shelf life. By planning ahead or responding to the production of your home garden, preserving fresh items for later helps reduce what you throw out in the summer. Soups, sauces, and jams are excellent methods to transform large quantities of ingredients into a meal- but if you’re short on time, you can flash freeze fruit and some vegetables to use later. All it takes is a sheet pan!
We love freezing apple slices during peak apple season to use in bakes throughout the year, but you can also freeze berries and stone fruits. The high water content in fruit will change the texture when they thaw, but they are perfect for smoothies or baked desserts, and don’t worry- they’ll still taste like summer! Try freezing apples to make our Apple Clafoutis recipe.
Some vegetables are better to freeze than others, like broccoli, cauliflower, peas, corn, carrots, beans, and squash. The higher the moister content, the harder it is to freeze raw veggies but there are lots of resources to help you with the best technique. We also love preserving pesto made with fresh herbs or garlic scapes. Remember our sneaky roasted tomato sauce recipe? It’s incredible with any variety of farm-fresh tomatoes, and is made with extra veggies like zucchini, peppers, onion, garlic, or even carrots!