Shop Local, Eat Fresh at the Saratoga Farmers' Market | Food, Crafts, Music in Saratoga Springs

Shop Local, Eat Fresh

community

Shop local, eat fresh, save money

By

By Julia Howard

It’s a common misconception that eating locally grown and produced food means spending more. In addition, rising food prices create tension around shopping and the strain on our wallets. Shopping and saving at the farmers’ market require a different approach than the one you use at the grocery store. With these tips, it’s easy and affordable to start enjoying the benefits of shopping local and eating fresh.

  • Skip the shopping list

While a shopping list might keep you on track at the grocery store, it could inhibit your shopping at the farmers’ market and even make you spend more than you intend. Many products are consistent at the farmers’ market; however, seasonal produce are changeable. Shop with an open mind, find abundant produce that week, and create meals with those main ingredients in mind. 

Gomez Veggie Ville, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett
  • Shop what’s in season

There are many benefits to buying fruit and vegetables in season. They are fresh, taste better, are more nutritious, and are often more affordable. Local farmers have a variety of overwintered produce like kale, beets, and mushrooms. Stored products such as apples, celeriac, and onions are available from the last growing season. And, as spring progresses, new items like arugula, bok choy, and pea shoots arrive weekly.

  • Ask about seconds

Perfection is overrated, especially when it comes to food. At the farmers’ market, it’s worthwhile to check with farmers and vendors for slightly bruised produce or items that don’t quite meet restaurant standards. Your food will taste just as good!

Pork and Greens, photo provided (1)
  • Know your farmer

Building relationships at the farmers’ market doesn’t necessarily mean earning deals and discounts. However, getting to know your farmer brings a new appreciation for food. Farmers offer cooking instructions and can help you find the most for your money. 

  • Go regardless of the weather

The weather can undoubtedly affect the foot traffic at any local business, especially as the farmers’ market is outdoors for six months of the year. Whether snow or rain, fewer customers mean that you can spend a little more time talking to farmers to build a relationship and talk about food.

Local farms and businesses appreciate the support from the community and provide many ways to make their products accessible and affordable.

This weeks recipe: Whatever Soup

Volunteers Strengthen Saratoga Farmers’ Market Community

By

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

 

The core of any community is its people. At the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, that community includes farmers, of course. But it also includes the market’s staff and its volunteer group Friends of the Market. This year with the market’s 40th anniversary, the Friends are eager to welcome more volunteers.

The Friends’ mission is to work with shoppers and vendors to help the market thrive. Over the years, as the market has grown, the Friends’ activities have branched out from primarily operating a veggie valet service to several market and community projects that include a compost drop site, a food pantry partnership, and media outreach.

New volunteers are expanding the Friends’ goals further.

Ann Haden, for instance, is helping to launch a cooking class for Skidmore students. She recently spent an evening with market director Julia Howard at the Lake Avenue Elementary School working with children to identify vegetables, including celeriac, which the kids figured out smelled like celery but did not look at all like it.

“Volunteering with the Friends of the Market is an opportunity to expand the virtues of going to the farmers’ market,” says Haden. “Sharing the experience of obtaining products directly from the farmer/vendor, having discussions about products and the community feeling at the market is a worthy investment of my time.”

Haden’s enthusiasm highlights the vital energy volunteers bring to the market. As Howard notes, “We want to make sure that the time volunteers give us is well spent at the farmers’ market. We will provide training and an on-site orientation so that newcomers can meet our vendors and other volunteers. They will contribute to the farmers’ market in a big way.”

For farmers, the market is a rejuvenating day. They get to leave their farms and interact with the community. These relationships speak to why farming is vibrant: it centers on food, family, and friends.

Is volunteering at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market for you? One way to answer that question is to ask yourself: Are you passionate about local foods? Do you want to learn more about local farming? Are you free for an hour or two at least once a month?

If your answers are yes, join us. Contact us at friends@saratogafarmersmarket.org.  

Visit the Saratoga Farmers’ Market 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths Building in Saratoga Spa State Park. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.