What happened to real farmers markets?

[21hens-incharge]

I cannot possibly be the only one to notice things have changed.



I remember back in the day when there were actual local farmers selling actual produce at the markets.

We stopped at a farmers market today and I was so very saddened. It was very boutique/speciality like.
There were breads, baked goods all very artsy and expensive. Nope I won't pay $8 for a loaf of bread.
There was jewelry, candles, dog treats, "local" honey, massages, bird houses, and even pot there.
The very few booths that had produce were things that are out of season here.
There were cherries for $7 a pound.....the grocery store has the same kind for $1.77. Yes I passed on those.

Booth after booth was a sad statement of the times we are living in.

Why I remember being able to head to the farmers market and get bushels of pickling cukes, tomatoes, squash, beans, peas, carrots, giant sacks of corn on the cob etc etc etc.
Many of those old time markets had people that simply were overrun with wonderful things from their own gardens.

You know......back when neighbors helped each other.

My how times have changed.

 

[CannedMonster]

Ours is like that right now.
People selling crafts instead of food lol.
There’s nothing wrong with that but you’d think something called a Farmers Market the majority of items would be food.
Or call it a Craft Fair lol.
It’s still kinda early in the season though.
We’ll see how it goes.

 

[Conan]

Ugh - I live just north of Gig Harbor, Wa and the Farmer's market is just straight "yuppy-ized". Same crap. Overpriced craft fair. I no longer attend the Gig Harbor market. The one in Port Orchard has a lot of promise but is so small that it's barely ever open.
I will say that the Farmer's market in Olympia was amazing! Tons of small, local farmers selling produce at fair and reasonable prices. Awesome local salsas and legit local honey. In addition, any plant (veggie and herb) start that you could imagine and super affordable. It's the only thing I miss about that pit of despair known as Olympia
Now I just hit our local nursery for larger plants and grow everything else from seed.

 

[LittleMissCountry]

We moved in August from central CO, and the farmers markets there were just as you described. It was disappointing.
Now we live in an area where they have real farmers markets, with local farmers, every weekend. During the week, I can even drive 10 minutes to go to a produce stand put out by a local farm, and buy reasonably priced produce! I love it!
I got so sick of the one in Colorado that had more artisan crafts and $8 breads (that I could make for less than a dollar), and yes, pot products. I much prefer it here.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I vividly recall all those weekends helping my grandmother put up veggies by canning or freezing. Most came from farmers markets. My grandmother grew mostly strawberries and rhubarb. What she didn't sell became jam or pie.


Maybe it is because so many people have given up gardening or live on postage stamp size lots these days.

I know most folks could not even try to compete with the big stores on prices. I would gladly pay a bit more for the local produce to support local farmers.

I guess I need to keep removing grass and expanding the garden. No way to find bushels of veggies to buy here. Going to have to grow more.

I am happy to hear the real farmers markets still exist @LittleMissCountry.

 

[av8torcrj]

We were vendors at the Downtown Memphis farmers market since inception many years ago but over time it evolved into a carnival for the downtown crowd to come see and be seen. Management made the farmers feel like they were doing us a FAVOR by ALLOWING us to be vendors, restricting what we could sell while trying to support ourselves. They were vindictive and spiteful, obcessed with being on a power trip, knowing nothing about farming. Management would ask "where's the corn".....in APRIL. Fresh veggies dwindled while catering trucks, pop corn and crafty crap flourished. It became a flea market. We finally had a belly full of them. Apparently it's circling the proverbial drain now while a more liberal market run by FARMERS is flourishing. That being said, the allure of the market scene does seem to have dwindle and, for sure, its increadibly hard, hot, dirty sweaty work.

 

[oregonkat]

Thankfully our markets are still the 'old fashioned' kind. Crafts and such are limited and only given assigned space when all the produce sellers have theirs. We do also have craft fairs where all the wonderful crafty people can really show off their wares but the Farmer Markets are designated to the farmers still.

 

[Zinjifrah]

I loved the Market in Olympia. The local Mastergrowers had a lot to do with keeping it 'local', I think, though there were still a lot of 'commercial' type booths. That said, I really, really miss being able to buy salmon jerky and snack on it with a latte from the Dancing Goats, just up the way.

Here, there's a small farmer's market. Mostly it's just crafty junk - sorry to craft people, but I'm not interested in that kind of thing, I certainly wouldn't be buying it. 'Hand made' soap that someone buys from a big company back East and sells here, that kind of thing. There are a few local farm vendors, though. That's where I get my elderberry syrup and jam, made from local wild elderberry trees.

 

[21hens-incharge]

We were vendors at the Downtown Memphis farmers market since inception many years ago but over time it evolved into a carnival for the downtown crowd to come see and be seen. Management made the farmers feel like they were doing us a FAVOR by ALLOWING us to be vendors, restricting what we could sell while trying to support ourselves. They were vindictive and spiteful, obcessed with being on a power trip, knowing nothing about farming. Management would ask "where's the corn".....in APRIL. Fresh veggies dwindled while catering trucks, pop corn and crafty crap flourished. It became a flea market. We finally had a belly full of them. Apparently it's circling the proverbial drain now while a more liberal market run by FARMERS is flourishing. That being said, the allure of the market scene does seem to have dwindle and, for sure, its increadibly hard, hot, dirty sweaty work.

It makes sense from a suppliers point of view. To be made feel unwelcome and crowded out by kitschy speciality booth would make me stop too.

Much of what I saw locally were things bought, repackaged, and drastically marked up. It certainly soured me.

Farming is one of THE hardest jobs IMHO. The hours are long. The days are hot. There are so many things out of the control of the farmers.

I for one very much appreciate what goes into growing food.

 

[av8torcrj]

50 acres, 200 chickens, multiple greenhouses... my first order from HelloFresh arrives Wednesday. Eventually ya just get too old to fight Mother Nature. I may get back in the ring with her eventually but I'm spending this summer beating back her encroaching wilderness before I have to clip a tunnel through the cudzu just to get in the front door.