[NAFEX] food prices

road's end farm organic101 at linkny.com
Fri Jul 6 07:48:06 EDT 2007


On Jul 6, 2007, at 2:41 AM, Stephen Sadler wrote:

> The produce [at farmers' market] is fresh, delicious, varied, and 
> pricey.  Much cheaper
> to go to the grocery.

Don't go to farmers' markets for cheap. Go for quality.

Those high-priced markets are also usually high-priced for the farmers 
to go to, both in market fees and in either driving time or the cost of 
living/owning a farm in an expensive area. The amount of time involved 
in bringing to market high-quality produce, properly packed so that it 
will hold its quality and so that it looks good to the customer, and of 
varieties suited to that particular market's customers, picked at the 
right stage for that particular market's customers, is also 
considerable. Most farmers are still barely scraping by. When we sell 
at market, we're doing the farmer's job, the packer's job, the 
trucker's job, the market researcher's job, and the produce manager's 
job. We'd like to be paid for our time.

Most markets do have vendors who are cheaper than others. Many areas do 
also have markets that are cheaper than others. Some of the cheap 
markets are full of resellers: the produce was bought on sale wherever 
it was cheapest, and possibly repacked for the market. Such produce may 
be less fresh than the stuff in the grocery. Some markets don't allow 
this; ask about the market rules. In those that do, if you want local 
produce, try asking what the varieties are, and other information about 
how the crop was grown. Of course many people will tell you honestly 
whether they grew it themselves, and if not whether it came from a 
neighbor or from six states away; it's not their fault if most 
customers don't bother to ask.

Some people selling cheap may be growing their own. Some of them are 
new sellers, or hobby sellers, with no idea what their cost of 
production is. Some of them are growing a relatively small number of 
crops in relatively large quantities, varieties chosen generally for 
highest production rather than highest flavor, machine harvested and 
packed instead of hand work. There's nothing wrong with this in itself, 
and it can give the market cheaper sources of basic items for those who 
are primarily looking for a bargain, and for those who genuinely have 
very little to spend.

Many people assume their food should be the cheapest possible. Then 
they pay large amounts extra for a pair of jeans, because they like the 
fit, or the brand name. Shouldn't the quality of what goes in your body 
be worth as much as the quality of what goes on your rear?

(Conflict of interest announcement: member Yates County Cooperative 
Farm & Craft Market; downtown Penn Yan, NY. No, we're not the Windmill 
market!)

--Rivka
Finger Lakes NY; zone 5 mostly
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