Farmer's Markets: Where's Yours?

posted June 29, 2009
  by Christine Gable, Kiddie Chow

I’m up early, I’ve had my coffee and I’m perusing the fine selection.

Fresh lettuce, spinach and kale. Just-picked carrots, tomatoes and raspberries. Homemade muffins, bagels and raw honey. Dried floral arrangements. Free-range eggs, chicken and buffalo. And don’t forget the bedding plants: geraniums, begonias and perennials of all shapes and sizes.

Can you guess where I am?

Certainly not your local big box mart, although you could find most of these items—though certainly not locally sourced—on the shelves. And I’m not at a big name grocery store either …

Give up? I’m at the farmer’s market! And I’m not even in my hometown. On a recent press trip to Holland, Michigan, I had the pleasure of experiencing Holland’s farmer’s market scene. These days it’s not that hard to find farmer’s markets in just about every small town and city. And some (like Holland) have even created attractive permanent “roofing structures” built into the sidewalks, a sure sign of serious commitment and dedication to the successful continuation of their town’s farmer's market.

We were lucky enough to have a tour guide who knew many of the standholders too: Matt Millar, chef from New Holland Brewing Company. He is reliant upon many of the local suppliers for his restaurant’s food since they use as many local foods as possible. That includes Otto’s Chicken, a supplier of humane chicken that is also USDA inspected (This is of special importance to me since daughter has been educating me on the importance of treating all chickens humanely. And it certainly helps to have a backyard flock and get to know them yourself).

We talked to beekeepers and learned that some are actually using chemicals to keep the bees alive and producing. Another good reason to know the supplier and source of your food, right? We’re living in a day and age when what you don’t know could hurt you! At Hasselman’s Pure Michigan honey stand, I learned how important it is to choose local honey because the local pollen and bacteria is present in honey in small amounts—and that helps our bodies build up an immunity. Hmmm, it’s a lot smarter to be building a local immunity versus one from honey created one or two thousand miles away, eh? Also learned that some people with allergies use raw honey … now that sounds like an easy natural treatment, eh?

What I loved most of all was the beautiful variety—the inspiration and the ideas that were piled on every table and surface. Look here: crisp, green Buttercrunch lettuce ready for the salad bowl. Over there: Valentine rhubarb, and Red Canada Rhubarb (it’s blood-red and has a higher pectin content which equals less sugar).

And on and on. Everywhere I looked there were piles of vibrant-colored vegetables calling my name. I just ached to pull out a couple dollars and load some goodies into my bag. But then I remembered: I’m traveling home in a couple days—I have one carry-on piece of luggage and the last thing I need is to be detained at security for a stowaway head of lettuce and bunch of radishes.

Nope. This trip to the farmer’s market will just have to suffice as one where I look and enjoy and dream—but do not load up the larder. But that’s OK too: every food writer needs some down time to think, to dream, to see where inspiration leads.

So once I’m home, you know where I’ll be headed: my own local town of Lititz just opened their own farmer’s market recently and I’ll be putting all this travel-time inspiration to good use.

If you are ever traveling in the Holland, Michigan area, please do check out their beautiful farmer’s market. It’s open Wednesdays and Saturdays 8-5 from mid-May to mid-December. For more details, check out www.hollandfarmersmarket.com.

• Bedding & Vegetable plants
• Christmas Trees & Wreaths
• Evergreens & Ornamentals
• Field-Grown Cut Flowers
• Greenhouse-Grown Plants
• Herbs
• Fruits: apples, apricots, blueberries, cherries, grapes, melons, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries
• Vegetables: asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, greens, lettuce, onions, parsnips, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, rutabagas, spinach, squash (summer & winter), tomatoes, (field & hothouse), turnips

Who could have guessed that Michigan had so much fresh produce available locally, eh? Just imagine what you might discover in your own part of the woods …


Next week: Learning to Make Pasta

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