YouTube: The FARMER'S MARKET

Farmer's Markets supply mainly organic locally-grown produce (fruits and vegetables), which tend to be significantly healthier, tastier and no more expensive than store-purchased non-organic produce.  Research has shown that organic foods tend to be higher in nutrients.  One of the two most likely reasons for this are that plants not protected by synthetic herbicides and insecticides generate more of their own, which are many of the phytonutrients that are so healthy for us.  The other main reason is that organic growers, particularly on small-scale farms, tend to have healthier soils, which results in healthier plants.  Small-scale growers provide freshly picked and therefore more fully ripened produce at the time of picking, which gives the plant more time to produce nutrients while still on the plant stalk, as compared to produce that is shipped further and picked before ripeness (after picking the nutrient production rate is reduced because nutrients are not available from the stock any more).  Besides the lower nutrients, the flavor is significantly blunted.  It is often assumed that organic local produce is more expensive, but I purchase apples and oranges for $2/pound and lettuce at $1.50 a head every week at my local market, which is the same or even cheaper than non-organic mass-produced items at typical grocery stores.  When considering the health and taste advantages of fresh, locally-produced organic foods (even if they are not officially certified as organic), and the fact they are not more expensive (go to the market and compare for yourself!!), it makes sense to go to the Market to improve the quality-of-life bang for your buck.  Since Farmer's Markets do not have as large a selection of items as grocery stores, go to the Market first to get the things they have available, and then go to the grocery store to fill in the gaps of what you need that the market did not have.  Here is my YouTube video on this from the market in Oakland, CA: