Market News - June 22, 2010
From the Market Manager
There has been a lot of discussion on a farmers’ market manager listserve recently about the cost of food at farmers’ markets. The discussion came about because of some comments from customers saying that the prices are more expensive at farmers’ markets. Some managers have done cost comparisons with their local supermarkets and have found that some prices are higher there, and some are lower. BUT, there are many other things to take into consideration besides price. There are 3 separate categories to consider—produce prices, meat/cheese prices, and the social justice price.
Where is the food from? How fresh is it? What are the working conditions under which it was grown/harvested?
When we are at the grocery store, we are usually purchasing many items at once, so we don’t concentrate on the individual cost of our produce items whereas at a farmers’ market, we pay for what we purchase right away. According to one person who went to Giant (owned by the same folks who own Stop & Shop) and WalMart for comparison shopping, most produce was more expensive than the farmers’ market.
Since many of us do consider the nutritional value of our food in addition to its flavor, it stands to reason that anything you purchase at a farmers’ market would be fresher than most of what is purchased from a grocery store. Certainly during the summer months grocery stores often purchase some produce from local farms.
It is also important to remember that small production farming is more expensive than large production farming. Just to consider one cost, gasoline is more expensive this year than last, and diesel used for tractors is almost $3 a gallon.
Also (and I know that you’ve heard this from me many times) don’t confuse price and value. Whatever you buy here will be fresher longer; you won’t be throwing food away due to spoilage.
Meat and cheese can cost more at a farmers’ market although in the cheese department at grocery stores you can find some pricey cheese.
Let’s just use our market as an example. We have 6 vendors who sell meat and/or cheese. Trinity Farm from Enfield just started making cheddar cheese curds from their hormone and antibiotic free milk. Sweet Pea Cheese, from the Hayes Dairy Farm in North Granby, CT also uses only their hormone and antibiotic free goat and cow milk in their cheese and they sell goat meat from their herd. Chicoine Family Farm from Easthampton, raises hormone and antibiotic free grass-fed beef and they don’t feed their cows any grain. Outlook Farm from Westhampton, while not pig farmers anymore, purchase hormone-free pigs from Amish country in Pennsylvania and all of the processing is done up here. Barnum and Buckley Farm from Southwick raises chickens, turkeys, and pigs, and they also sell their own eggs. No hormones or antibiotics there either. Hickory Dell Farm, while not a cheese producer themselves, does bring local cheese from a couple of Massachusetts farms.
There are some terms that we see that are designed to make us feel good when we are purchasing something, but don’t mean much of anything. “All natural” means nothing as there is no legal definition for the phrase. It says nothing about how the animal was raised or what it was fed. “All-vegetarian diet” presumably means that the animal wasn’t fed any meat by-products which in the case of cows is a good thing as they are herbivores. But, that phrase doesn’t mean that the animal was fed what it was supposed to eat. It could be that it was fed lots of corn, not its natural food. “Minimally processed” also means nothing legally. The food industry at this time can stamp that on anything they want to, but it’s supposed to make you feel good somehow. It could be that the meat was injected with water or a flavoring and the industry is figuring that you think favorably about the term.
While you may find grass-fed beef or organically raised meat/poultry in the grocery store, they may be from factory farms. Again a big BUT, when you purchase these items from a farmers’ market you very likely are purchasing from the person who raised/produced the meat or cheese. Even if the farm isn’t an organic farm, they may very well use organic farming practices and will answer your questions.
What you’re paying for at the farmers’ market, in most cases, is meat/cheese/eggs from healthier, happier animals, which in turn usually taste better, are better for you nutritionally and are better for the environment. You are paying for the health of the land versus the veritable toxicity that comes along with factory farm operations. You get what you pay for.
We are eating more meat now than we were just 25 years ago, so to make your protein purchases more affordable, cut down on your consumption a little and buy what’s good for you, the animals, the farmer, and the planet.
Much of the agriculture in the United States is subsidized which makes for low food prices. We pay, on average, about 9% of our income for food, a much lower percentage than what most of the rest of the world pays. Small farms aren’t subsidized, so consider that when you purchase from a local producer.
Honey
Hickory Dell Farm will be bringing local honey to the market when Mayou’s Apiary is not at the market as Don comes to our market every other week.
Neighborhood Block Party
Trinity Church is hosting a neighborhood block party on July 17th on the church grounds from 4-7:30 PM, rain date is the 18th. Everyone is invited, it is free, and this is a way for the congregation to get to know its neighbors.
Interfaith Service also at Trinity
June 29th at 6:30 on the lawn (weather permitting) there will be a service to gather together to express our feelings about the oil spill in the Gulf. All are welcome.
