I recently returned from France and in the small town I was staying in, there was a farmers market with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, berries, peaches, and a lot of other fresh fruits and veggies that were grown nearby. The taste is very different than I’m used to with grocery store produce. Where I live in Texas, it seems like everything is shipped in from Mexico or California and was picked before it was ripe so the taste isn’t great.

25 comments
  1. Many areas do have farmers markets. It probably depends on the climate and whether it is conducive to growing many crops. I know around Pittsburgh and most of the north east they are all over the place.

  2. There are farmers markets around. It’s also not too uncommon to drive by roadside stands selling stuff – often times just working on an honor system.

  3. Pretty easy. We’ve been enjoying green beans, peas, zucchini, cucumbers, beefsteak and cherry tomatoes, four kinds of peppers, kale, cabbage, basil, sage, and thyme from our backyard garden since July.

    Beyond that, there are farms and farmers’ markets all over Michigan, including the city of Detroit—we used to have a community-supported agriculture share that was entirely produce grown on farms within Detroit city limits. In more rural areas of the state, it’s common to encounter roadside farm stands. It’s apple season now, and even the chain supermarkets carry Michigan apples, although it’s fun to pick them directly at the orchard (or at least buy a bag of freshly picked apples and fresh cider).

    Edited to add that [the City of Detroit has hired its first ever director of urban agriculture](https://www.michiganradio.org/environment-climate-change/2023-09-11/detroit-hires-first-ever-director-of-urban-agriculture).

  4. Incredibly easy, almost every town has a farmer’s market or grocery store selling local produce.

  5. Pretty easily. During the warmer months, there’s a farmers market and a lot of farm stands open

  6. There’s a huge farmers market five minutes from my house. If I go to see my Mom, I’ll pass half a dozen roadside stands on the way.

  7. Californian here. Farmer’s markets are very common and run year round. Produce, honey, spices, artwork, and even cannabis adjacent products (CBD stuff and the like). They have it all

  8. There’s a local Co-op farm that my family gets stuff from and we have a small garden where we grow tomatoes, melons, and herbs.

  9. We have a farmers market every saturday, it’s small, but there’s produce, eggs, some meat, honey, and some other vendors have tables there. There’s a butcher’s shop nearby that only uses local organic stuff, and there are a few produce shops a little ways away.

  10. Extremely easy. There are farm stands everywhere and I believe MA has one of the highest or the highest rates of direct to consumer sales of produce.

  11. Extremely easy. There’s a small grocery store a block away that has mostly local produce when in season. And even the supermarket that I use, about a mile away, goes out of its way to get local produce when it’s in season. Also a nearby farmers’ market during the warm months.

  12. We have weekly farmers markets and a good number of farm stands. We also have many pick-your-own farms, with apples being the main item now, but strawberries and other items earlier in the summer.

    The farm stands usually have a mix of local and non-local produce, depending on what’s in season and what can be grown locally.

  13. Very easy. People set up tables in front of their homes, there are farmer’s markets twice per week nearby with an abundance of goods, there are at least 4 produce stands open daily within a 30 minute radius.

  14. I got a farmers market that has a decent amount of veggies and fruits and a garden, probably less than some states though. I think we do ok. But yeah you can tell the difference between produce that is grown by you and produce that had been shipped half way across the world or across the United States. Even the milk and cheese and bakeries. We should definitely promote and make it easier for more local farming in the U.S.

    To be fair though, a lot of our produce comes from outside of the U.S. in big chain grocery stores too so don’t put all the blame on the U.S. like people tend to.

  15. In season?

    Super easy. There’s a ton of small farms in Maine and a whole mess of farmers markets and farm stands.

    Out of season there are winter farmers markets but it’s mostly meat and eggs and root vegetables that can last for a good long while. Plus crafts and honey and syrup and the like.

  16. Quite easy. There’s a weekly farmer’s market in my city (Alpharetta), many grocery stores carry local produce, and there are even suburban farms close by where you can obtain produce right from the farmer (but they’re usually going to just be a single type of produce).

  17. I shop at HEB which prides itself on sourcing as much as it can from within Texas. If you are having problems finding Texas produce you must be from around Dallas as that is one of the few regions of Texas without HEBs.

    HEB aside, there are tons of farmers markets all throughout Texas. Some operate monthly, some weekly, and some daily. It should not be hard to find one with google and or facebook in your area.

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