‘Tis the Season

Produce from Small Basket from Farmers Market Baskets

‘Tis the season…for Farmer’s Markets! With spring in full swing, farmer’s markets are getting into high gear. Depending upon where you live, farmer’s markets are springing up all over the place. You could almost go to one every day of the week, at least around Atlanta, GA where I am. It is great to see so many thriving with fresh and local produce available to so many people. To locate a farmer’s market in your area, go to http://www.localharvest.org/. This is a great website for not only finding farmer’s markets, but co-ops, CSAs, farms, etc.

Often times, if a farmer’s market isn’t convenient to you or it is the wrong time of year, other options might exist. I was recently introduced to one such option here in metro Atlanta in the northwest suburbs. It is a great company called Farmer’s Market Baskets. It is a co-op service that goes to the State Farmers Market once a week and then provides baskets of fresh produce to its subscribers that same day. It operates year-round. The great thing is that there is only a $10 initial fee to cover the cost of the re-usable basket. There are two sizes of basket – small and regular. In addition, there is an all organic option. There are several pick-up locations available on various days. But if you have a group of 10 or more people then you can have a pick-up location created for you.

While you don’t know ahead of time what produce you’ll be getting, it is generally fairly common items. Personally, I liked the adventure of going to get my basket and being surprised with its contents from which I could then create a variety of dishes. Above is a picture of a recent basket I got, and this was a small classic  that cost me $10. Included was spinach, green leaf lettuce, grapefruit, tomatoes, green bell peppers, bananas, broccoli, potatoes and a cantaloupe. Definitely worth the money and it is a big savings over what I would get at the grocery store. Even more exciting is news that they will be having their own farmers markets on Fridays and Saturdays with local growers this summer. If you live in the area, check it out!

I have presented myself with a Farmers Market Challenge for the summer and that is to visit as many farmer’s markets in Atlanta as I can. Stay tuned as I report back some of my great finds. Feel free to share with me and others via the comments your favorite farmers markets and your finds!