Before I get into what I did with this great food, I must quote a line from the movie "Network": "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" Guess how much the 2 squash and a couple pounds of potatoes and Brussel Sprouts cost me? Go ahead. Ballpark it. Give up? TWENTY SEVEN DOLLARS!!! Ok, I get that organic is more expensive than conventional. But WHY, if the farmer and I are cutting out all of the middle people and most of the transportation costs (except for my own additional gas to get to the market) and other middle costs by meeting each other at the farmers market, is there such a premium placed on local food??? I'm sorry, but it doesn't make sense to me. I keep reading references in national resources, such as Consumer Reports, to less expensive food in local farmers markets due to the fact that many of the conventional expenses have been eliminated. So why did these 3 very ordinary vegetables cost me almost $30?

Yes, ultimately I could have put them back, but I had handled each one and I had very specific plans for them as soon as I got home (my parents were coming over in a few hours for a turkey dinner and I did not have time to shop elsewhere). I also thought it would be worthwhile to show my readers an example of why it is important to #1. shop around, and #2. talk to the farmers. Before buying your produce at the first stand you get to, walk through the market and compare prices. There are other organic farms who don't seem to consider "local" a reason to charge exorbitant prices. If you talk with people at the farms that have not been certified organic you just might find that they're in the process of being certified (which is a long process) or their "non-organic" methods are methods you can deal with. I was talking with a friend of mine at one such farm. She told me that they use absolutely no pesticides and the fertilizer they use is all natural, except that the binding ingredient in that fertilizer fails the "organic-certified" test. She stated that the offending ingredient isn't a "major offender". I've known her for years, and know that she is very concerned with what she eats. We didn't get into details about the name of the "offending" ingredient, but her word was enough for me to buy some produce from the farm she works at. (Separately, I'd like to do a little more research on the particular ingredient to get more conclusive and objective results. If I find out more I'll let you know.)

You know what? I would love to buy nothing but organic, local ingredients, but I don't have tons of disposable income to do so. Most people don't. If the sole market driver sending people to farmers markets was organic food, I could understand the price being high, but such is not the case. Many people are looking to cut corners AND buy local food, and many of those people are under the impression that any trip to the farmers market will accomplish those 2 goals. I continue to hear from people who say "I cannot afford to buy local". That's really sad.

I will do anything reasonable and within my power to promote local farms. That is one of my objectives. If you want a link to your website - contact me. If you don't have a website and would like to discuss the possibility of promoting your farm on my site for free - contact me. If there's a retailer that carries your product and you'd like to use my website to say so, let's talk. But I, as a consumer myself, primarily represent the consumer. That is why I'm coming on so strong with this message in the paragraphs above. I'm not interested in singling anyone out for something I don't like, which is why I am not naming the farm that charged me so much. I wish them well. To be honest though, I can't say I have a really compelling reason to return.

Ok, enough of THAT! Back to the program...

What I did with with this glorious food, including the overpriced stuff:

Normally, I spread out my farmers market cache over the course of a number of meals. This time was different. My parents were coming over for lunch, and I had a turkey in the oven. Most of the items I purchased went right into lunch (with LOTS of leftovers!).