One of our Farmers Markets posted a contest asking you to post a meal with at least 3 items purchased from the farmers market.  That spurred me to put together two pictures showcasing what farmers market items we had on hand purchased from the Seymour and North Vernon markets.  I was pleased at the quantity of items we had on hand, but not surprised.

These are not planned and staged pictures.  My wife, who was at the N. Vernon market that day, had no idea I was planning on taking these pictures and some of the items in the Seymour picture were not purchased that day or were repeat purchases.  Neither picture include the various past items that were not on hand such as mushrooms, flowers, sweetcorn, nuts, bread, biscuits and gravy, etc., etc., etc.

Even before we started selling we were purchasing locally grown meat and produce.  Not only is there tremendous satisfaction in knowing where your food comes from and the upstanding individuals that produced it, but the quality and experience is so much better.  Imagine having a seller explain to you how to tell a cantaloupe is ripe and point out that this one would be good to enjoy today, but another one should sit 2-3 days before enjoying it.  That’s just one of many examples I’ve witnessed at the markets.

Don’t think that I’m saying you need to purchase everything from a local source, we don’t; however, if it’s in season and we can buy it locally, we do.  Knowing where our food came from and supporting family farms and business in our communities is important and satisfying to us.

If you’re currently supporting local markets, God bless you and keep it up.  If not, give it a try; you might by pleasantly surprised.

-Jason