Farmers Markets Vs Non Organic Foods

When at the grocery store, I often wonder if I am getting the full nutritional value from the goods I buy. Knowing that grocery stores provide produce that have been both processed and transported thousands of miles gives me the impression that these goods are not fresh and as nutritious as the say they are. Additionally, it leads me to believe that I am not getting what I am paying for. Another question I come across at the grocery store is, who is benefitting from my purchases? The one place that I know I can get the full nutritional value of produce is at the farmers market. Although some people may not want to go outside and shop for only seasonal produce, there are good reasons to do so. Not only do farmers markets benefit the consumer

According to the Papillion Farmers Market, farmer’s market vendors are like other retailers except for the fact that they are local entrepreneurs who set prices that allow them to reasonably cover their costs. In fact, according to a study conducted by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, "prices at farmers' markets for conventionally grown produce items are lower than they are at supermarkets. For organic items, farmers' markets beat grocery stores every time hands down," (Estabrooke). The article argues that, "non-organic farmers' market cantaloupe, cucumbers, lettuce, and peas were better buys than their supermarket counterparts," (Estabrooke). One of the reasons being that it is a cost advantage that farmers markets offer the ability to buy fresh food in bulk at the peak of the season and then preserve or chill produce for use later on when the goods would otherwise be more expensive, lower quality or harder to find.2

The food sold at farmers markets are by and large fresher and healthier than ones found at supermarkets. One of the reasons that grocery store-bought foods aren't For instance, according to a United States Department of Agriculture study, more than 85% of sellers at farmers markets transported goods for less than 50 miles to sell in 2008, and more than 50% of vendors moved just short of ten miles in 2006. It takes seven to fourteen days for produce to be picked up and transported to a supermarket, going generally 1,200 miles before arriving at a customer which makes the produce less