Monday's Question of the Day - August 4, 2014

Where do you like to shop for produce?  Grocery store? Farmers Markets? Roadside stands? Co-op deliveries? Or do you not eat your fruits and veggies at all? 

My kid's favorite part of the grocery store lately is the produce!  I let them pick what kinds of fruits we will have for the week.  Last week DD and I wanted cantaloupe so we went to check them out.  It was such a disappointment!  The melons had no scent to them and between the texture of the rind it was still pretty green.  We settled for nectarines, plums, bananas and apples instead.  But I really wanted a melon!!  So last Friday we had planned to go to a pool with my mother to swim; but it was rainy off and on with thunderstorms in the forecast too.  So we went to a Farmers Market/Bazzar instead!  It's out of my way most of the time and parking isn't the greatest.  Back when my mother and I were working for the same company we'd get lunch here on the days it's open sometimes.  I've missed it!  We browsed the cheap things for sale and I had my most favorite lunch: kielbasa with sauerkraut on a roll.  We have a decent size Amish population in the area and they have quite a few shops set up inside the building part.  One for sandwiches and things like I got, others for pastries (I came home with 2 Elephant ears too), candies, pickles and cheeses, fresh fruits and eggs, etc.  I've missed that place!!

But the best part; outside they had at least 5 different vendors with the local produce.  I got the hugest most amazing cantaloupe ever!!  I should have picked up a few and frozen some!  Everything looked so good; I just didn't have room in the refrigerator here for extra tomatoes and things.  I saw some beautiful looking eggplants (something I don't eat; but they were so pretty!) and somethings I've never seen before.  One was a lighter purple and a long, tubular shaped thing.  I should have asked what those were.  

It wasn't the most convenient place to get into with a stroller; but with the weather the parking was great!  And we only got sprinkled on.  I'm trying to decide now if I can get back up there this week.  Either that or I need to find some recommendations on the produce stands in the area.  I just don't see the grocery store stuff cutting it anymore.  I know some of them buy from  local farms; but supporting the local people this way is probably far better.  For the farmers, the community and US!  I had looked into a local "CSA" program; but it was out of my budget.  My Mom got some corn for us from a roadside stand last week.  It was kind of mushy and disappointing  My Grandfather swears by the farm stands in his area;but he's been shopping at them so long he knows who to go to; if he doesn't grow it himself. .

I think I'm at least going to need another cantaloupe before the season is over....    

DH is really into gardening and has a greenhouse and an orchard, so we buy very little produce. What little we do buy is in the winter, so the supermarket is about the only option.

I eat heaps of fruit and veggies and get them from the market or my local organic grocery shop.  I really prefer organically grown food, for taste, health and environmental reasons, but it needs to be fresh. 

I avoid the supermarket organics as, just because it's been grown sustainably it doesn't mean it's fresh.  There is nothing quite like buying from the person who's grown it, at the Farmer's Market, and having a chat with them about how things are going down on the farm.

At the moment I only have pawpaw and herbs available in my own garden. I'm envious @jcat. 

Mani said:

At the moment I only have pawpaw and herbs available in my own garden. I'm envious @jcat
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You wouldn't be if you knew of his latest plan, namely to turn the entire yard into a vegetable patch next year. :lol3:

I usually go to the one last remaining  working farm in NJ - Dreyer Farms.  They recently renovated their farm stand building so now it's much larger, better parking and they now carry straight-from-another-farm milk, eggs, cheese, honey, butter, etc and partner with a local bakery so you can get great breads to go with what you purchase.  They have a CSA box program which I haven''t tried only because p/u times aren't convenient for me personally. They grow almost everything on-site.

Two grocery stores nearby have promised to always have New Jersey fresh items in stock.  They happen to be my go-to large markets anyway so that works out nicely.

I used to grow tomatoes at home but this year, just couldn't manage it.  Kind of glad I did because the weather hasn't been exactly conducive to good produce this year,  

Ummm, up in the back yard? When we have the garden during the summer, If I need something, I run up to the garden and get it. Right now, I'm taking zucchini, yellow squash, and tons of peppers. Corn is on the way and so are the lima beans. (And we are planning for a larger garden next year because I want to try to grow eggplant, sweet potatoes, spinach, acorn squash (again), onions, and some other veggies. Rick hasn't gotten to where he wants to turn the entire back yard into a garden, Tricia. At least not yet. But he's already planning on enlarging what we have. We've talked about a small greenhouse, too, to help us get a head start on our planting season. I envy your greenhouse and your orchard.)

When I was walking, I would walk over to our farmers' market on Wednesdays during my lunch break. I would buy 'shrooms, garlic, some potatoes, and the like and haul it all back to my office at work, then take it home that afternoon. I love our farmers' market. It's part flea market, part junk market, part bakery, part meat and seafood, part nursery for potted plants and flowers. It's really an interesting place. There's also an organic-type market on Fridays....everything that's sold there must be organic. I used to go there, too, for tomatoes before ours would start to ripen. They have the most delicious ciabatta, too. I do bake bread often, but sometimes it's nice to just buy a loaf of bread.

It in the fall we buy a lot of apples from an orchard and I make applesauce for Rick. I keep some for munching, too. 

During the winter it's the supermarket and I hate paying those prices. We keep veggies in the freezer for winter meals, but still have to buy lettuce and tomatoes and the like. Our store does not carry nice produce; the apples are bruised and the bananas are way too ripe. 

Out of convenience we just go to the grocery store. You guys are so lucky to have nice farmer's markets! I went to the nearest farmer's market here and it was a massive disappointment, lots of stuff rotting and overpriced and nothing compared to even a grocery store. The farmer's market back in my hometown area was great - clean and fresh produce every weekend. My friend inspired me because they used their small studio space's fire escape to have their own little vegetable garden. I think next summer I'll have a small balcony garden.

I prefer to shop for my fruits and veggies at farmers markets. However they seem to be growing smaller in number... so as an alternate we get our fruit and veggies at Winn Dixie. The rest of our grocery shopping is usually done at Walmart but the quality of fruit there is TERRIBLE. 

I let my sister grow them for me.. she gave me some really nice tomatoes and lettuce yesterday!

Farmers Markets are on tuesday mornings.. and I can never get there because I work. But I do like to go to the Asian Market- H-Mart. It's all fresh and fairly priced.

pinkdagger said:

 
Out of convenience we just go to the grocery store. You guys are so lucky to have nice farmer's markets! I went to the nearest farmer's market here and it was a massive disappointment, lots of stuff rotting and overpriced and nothing compared to even a grocery store. The farmer's market back in my hometown area was great - clean and fresh produce every weekend. My friend inspired me because they used their small studio space's fire escape to have their own little vegetable garden. I think next summer I'll have a small balcony garden.

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You can get some nice things going for yourself like that!   My MIL has a 2nd story deck and grows her lettuces in window boxes on the railing (it's off the kitchen).  I have tomatoes in pots this year.  The thing I've learned is that they do need to be "fed" regularly; because they take more watering the nutrients wash out faster.  

I do love growing my own; but I don't have fruit trees and I don't care to grow things like lettuce and broccoli.  I am looking into adding some berry bushes; but those will take a while before we can get much from them.

i shop at aldi's for produce (some fruits and all the veggies) now. i do buy fresh apples and go blueberry picking each year -- i live in an agricultural area. i would prefer to buy my fruit and veggies (and buy more of them) at farmer's markets, but i don't drive so can't at this time. i will be buying a used UTV next spring though, so will be able to go shopping every 3 weeks or so, instead of the once every two months that i shop now. i'll also be able to stop at one of the local farmer's markets and roadside stands when i want to/on my shopping route. i'm sooooo looking forward to having better transportation.

there's a local produce auction about a mile from my house once a week. i've never been to it, but will be able to once i have some better transportation.

at this time, i don't eat as much fresh fruit and veggies as i'd like to, because it doesn't keep for the whole two months between shopping trips. sometimes my neighbors will drop by and give me some fresh fruit or veggies though, which i always enjoy. i return the favor by bringing them homemade yogurt or from scratch baked goods.

I go to my grocery store but also Farmers Markets cuz I find they are much fresher.  There are two Farmers Markets close by so I try to go there as often as I can.  The thing is I don't like going to different places so if I'm shopping at my grocery store, I will up fruit and veggies there, I'm lazy that way.

Usually the grocery store, but I love going to the farmer's market. There's a great farmer's market about an hour from here. We haven't been there in a while, but I love going. The produce is so cheap and they have tons of stuff to buy. You can see it here, http://www.stjacobs.com/farmers-market It's great. We used to live closer to there and went every 2-3 weeks.

I usually buy from the grocery store.  We have a couple of good farmer's markets here but they are only open 1 or 2 days a week.  I always think about buying produce from a farmer's market when there are none open.

This time of year I get some in my own garden. I have a tiny local market that sells some local produce, plus there is a farmstand right down the street.

For produce, I am checking out a local farmer's market. I've been there once and am thinking of going there more often. The selection is quite good, but it can be intimidating for a newbie shopper like myself. They have USDA-certified stuffs too. Non-produce, I usually go to Trader Joe's, 4 minutes away.