This past weekend, I visited the Crescent City Farmers Market. I love, love, love cooking fresh vegetables as a side dish and I enjoy the benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables. In college we bought the canned vegetables to cook with our meals. It wasn't the healthiest choices to make but it fit our budgets at the time.
I've never been to a farmers market so I didn't know what to expect and neither did I know what to do. For starters, I knew to dress comfortably in jeans, a shirt and shoes that I didn't mind getting dirty because again, I didn't know what to expect.
There were tons of vendors selling fresh fruits, vegetables, tofu, huge bagels, shrimp, shrimp, fish and beverages that were made from all organic ingredients.
I went back to one of the vendors twice lol.
The farmers market even sold coffee which was the pick me upper I needed to walk around and shop. I also enjoyed listening to the sounds of a local guitarist as I shopped. I initially spent $20 but went back for more tokens and spent $35.
At this farmers market, you could either pay with cash or purchase tokens with a debit or credit card. The tokens are $5 each so if you bought something for $4, the vendor would give you $1 in cash for your change. They also had picnic tables available for you to sit down and rest or snack on your latest purchase. This farmers market is open at the location every Saturday but they do have set-ups around the city. I love this because that means that people have multiple access points to receive fresh fruits and vegetables.
I bought the following fresh fruits and veggies at the Crescent City Farmers Market:
Basil
Sweet potatoes
Green beans
Assorted hot peppers
Broccoli
Cucumbers
Strawberries
Salsa
Eggs
I had a few coins left over that are valid for anytime I go back to the market. I'm shocked I didn't buy any greens this trip but maybe it's because I just cooked some and I wanted to stock up on the food that I either cook often or needed.
I forgot to mention that I bought my boyfriend along on this venture with me. He bought us the tokens but left me to do the pickings of the food I bought. Great guy, right?......Right. I really enjoyed this experience and I know I'll be doing this more often (bi-weekly) on my Saturday mornings. The farmers market is open from 8am-12pm so you have to get up early and get out there before all of the good stuff sells out. I did make an extra effort to buy from black vendors but there were only two.
For 24 hours, you can go on my Instagram account and see pictures of the fruits and vegetables that I bought and that were on different vendor tables.
Please feel to share tips that I and other readers can use on our next visit to a farmers market.
Lastly, I found online from the Farmers Market Coalition (2019) several benefits of shopping at farmers market:
Preserve America's rural livelihood and farmland
Stimulate local economics
Increase access to fresh, nutritious food
Support healthy communities
Promote sustainability
Provides produce education
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