10 Reasons to Shop your Local Farmer’s Market

                                     10 Reasons to Shop your Local Farmer’s Market

1. Find foods that are either locally or organically grown, or both!  These foods promote sustainability and clean eating.  Produce that is locally grown is automatically fresher, and organic foods will reduce your consumption of unnecessary and sometimes carcinogenic chemicals.
2. Better taste, better quality.  Fresh organic/local produce will taste and smell better!  Not to mention they will also offer a more potent nutritional profile.  This will aid your health, and add value to your purchase.
3. Support the community.  Supporting local farmers is important.  It helps ensure that they can continue to operate, and keep our soils healthy.  Farmer’s markets are known to give back to the community in which they operate, so supporting the market helps your community thrive.
4. Cost.  You will notice that farmer’s markets are very competitively priced, if not cheaper!
5. Hard to find foods.  Have a recipe that calls for fresh star anise?  Chances are you’ll find it at your local farmer’s market
6. Encourage your family to eat healthy.  What better way to let your kids explore all kinds of fruits and vegetable than to tour the market together.  You can discuss the foods you see and let them choose a few items to take home.
7. New ideas.  Explore the market to expose yourself to new ingredients.  Ask for recipes!  Be inspired by your senses and try something new.
8. Eat seasonally.  Nature provides specific crops each season to complement your changing nutritional needs.  Seasonal foods are readily available from local sources all year round.
9. Better options.  Colour, size, shape, quantity.  You won’t be forced to buy a whole bag of produce, and you can select from a variety of options per produce type.
10. Add-ons!  Farmer’s markets delight in offering local artisans’ products as well.  Look for a spectrum of different honeys, jams, pies, breads, soups, chutneys, and more...