by Megan Stoddard

Created on: February 09, 2010

Buying food at a farmers market is more adventurous and invigorating than buying it at a grocery store. Instead of walking the aisles with cart or basket and absentmindedly grabbing at whatever is on your list, you stroll leisurely from stall to stall, where the offerings may be different from season to season. The fresh air and the layout of the market make it feel like an excursion, unlike a fluorescently lit store, where shopping feels more like a chore.

It should be no surprise that as well as being pleasant, buying food at the farmers market has many health benefits. The food is much better in taste and nutrition than supermarket food. The shopping experience is somewhat healthier. And unlike grocery stores, farmers markets do not have a stake in getting you to spend the most money on the worst possible food.

First, most food sold at a farmers market is healthier because it is local and fresh. Grocery stores sell food from all over the world, and they usually do not tell you exactly where it comes from. Apples may be from Washington State, China, or Chile. Garlic may be from California, Mexico, or New Zealand. A cut of ground beef may include meat from 20 different cows slaughtered in as many different locations. Most processed foods are a literal United Nations of ingredients.

In contrast, little is sold at a farmers market that comes from farther than a day's drive away. And if you ask a vendor where his or her merchandise came from, he or she will gladly tell you. Usually, the vendor is the farmer. Sometimes, it is someone the farmer has hired to take the food to market, but even a hired helper is likely to know the farmer and the farm. They can tell you, if you want to know, what growing methods were used, and give you tips on preparing the food that you may never have thought of.

While not all food sold at farmers markets is organic, much of it is. And many of the small growers who make up the majority of farmers market denizens use environmentally friendly methods, whether or not they have acquired an organic certification. Far fewer, if any, chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used. Meat and eggs sold at farmers markets are likely to have come from animals treated better and fed more natural diets than those on factory farms. All of this makes for healthier food.

The food you get at a farmers market is usually as fresh as you can get it without growing it yourself. The fresher food is when it is eaten, the healthier it is. Produce shipped long

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