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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould
Shopping at local stores, farmers' markets, food co-ops who offer decent service and reasonable prices makes perfect financial sense.
1) You are paying for the experience as well as the product. Saturday morning at the farmer's market is wonderful, social experience. Plus you end up with some tasty, fresh things to eat. Less expensive than going out to bar on Saturday night to chat with folks.
We go to our local farmer's market every saturday and wish it was open all year (closed Nov-April). Not only is the produce there better, but far less expensive than at the local grocer, and it is picked that morning at the local farms (1-2 hours away).
When it comes to cars we usually go a good hour away, simply because the local dealers are not only higher in price but we have experienced problems with their service in the past. When you find one that's honest and reliable, you have to stick with them even if it means driving an hour.
Shopping local for us means 20 minutes anyway, we only have 2 small strip malls in our little city of 45,000.
Those stores/shops/restaurants are almost all chains, the locally owned "mom & pops" have been driven out by landlords not renewing the leases because they had national brands willing to pay higher rent.
We go to our local farmer's market every saturday and wish it was open all year (closed Nov-April). Not only is the produce there better, but far less expensive than at the local grocer, and it is picked that morning at the local farms (1-2 hours away).
When it comes to cars we usually go a good hour away, simply because the local dealers are not only higher in price but we have experienced problems with their service in the past. When you find one that's honest and reliable, you have to stick with them even if it means driving an hour.
Shopping local for us means 20 minutes anyway, we only have 2 small strip malls in our little city of 45,000.
Those stores/shops/restaurants are almost all chains, the locally owned "mom & pops" have been driven out by landlords not renewing the leases because they had national brands willing to pay higher rent.
In our small town, 1800 people in a county of 18,000, zoning discourages chain stores. I guess this is to support local businesses. Heck, we don't even have a stop light in our county. Kind of a novelty in this day and age.
We go to our local farmer's market every saturday and wish it was open all year (closed Nov-April). Not only is the produce there better, but far less expensive than at the local grocer, and it is picked that morning at the local farms (1-2 hours away).
When it comes to cars we usually go a good hour away, simply because the local dealers are not only higher in price but we have experienced problems with their service in the past. When you find one that's honest and reliable, you have to stick with them even if it means driving an hour.
Shopping local for us means 20 minutes anyway, we only have 2 small strip malls in our little city of 45,000.
Those stores/shops/restaurants are almost all chains, the locally owned "mom & pops" have been driven out by landlords not renewing the leases because they had national brands willing to pay higher rent.
Sounds like what you have is a REAL farmers market. As much as I hated living in the Midwest, I did love REAL farmers markets. Fresh vegtables at a fraction of the price, often negotiable.
In other places I have lived, a farmer's market is people driving to whole food 1hr away taking the labels off stuff and selling it at a stand.
I don't see it much as an experience. I have been to all sorts of farmers markets, fancy ones. In the end, so so. If I'm rich enough, I'd pay to have such luxurious experience. But just for that experience, it's not worth the money.
Fancy ones, eh? I've never been to a fancy one. I'll keep an eye out.
Ours are just local farmers. I chat with the neighbors while we buy eggs and trade kale recipes and catch up on whose kids are doing what.
I prefer the eggs from this one farm as they make the best scrambled eggs, thick, deep yellow yolks, much tastier than store bought eggs. I think it has to do with the chickens being truly free-range. Eggs are $5 a dozen. I'm not sure I would call it luxurious, but the wee splurge is worth it to me. Since we have at least one or two eggs dinners a week, it probably saves us money over meat based meals.
Get the best smoked gouda and sun-dried tomato gouda from this one stand. The daughters started making cheese to help make ends meet on the family dairy farm. I enjoy chatting with them and feel good about supporting their endeavors to help keep the family farm in the family. Probably Walmart sells cheaper gouda, but I doubt they have any this tasty. Sometimes we make a dinner of gouda and apple and pear slices. Since this is an evening of no cooking but not going out to eat, I suspect we save money overall on that gouda.
Of course, now we are getting homegrown tomatoes that make a woman weak in the knees. We eat them on hot buttered biscuits. Oh, my. Maybe that is luxury after all.
I realize that not everyone enjoys eating incredibly tasty food or chatting with the folks that grow it. Each to their own.
Since we don't eat out as much and since we are more likely to eat simple meals from the farmer's market, I think we save money. We're both pretty healthy too, so there's that saving on co-pays and so forth.
The farmer's market in my area is very small, but still pretty good. While many items are priced well, others leave me scratching my head. Berries for instance: the berries grown locally cost 3x as much as the berries at the grocery store trucked in from California.
The farmer's market in my area is very small, but still pretty good. While many items are priced well, others leave me scratching my head. Berries for instance: the berries grown locally cost 3x as much as the berries at the grocery store trucked in from California.
Not really surprising.
Tomatoes are a classic example. In the UK, the weather is generally very bad for growing tomatoes. Locally grown tomatoes pretty much have to be grown in a greenhouse. Alternatively, you can ship tomatoes from Spain. It's cheaper and more environmentally sound to buy tomatoes from Spain than locally grown tomatoes delivered on the back of a bicycle in the UK. No idea what the berry growing conditions are like where you live, but in general it isn't odd for locally grown produce to be much more expensive. It costs almost nothing in terms of money or energy to truck it in from California.
It is really difficult.... A loaf of organic bread at local shop is like $6, same thing at Trader Joe's is $3.50 and the TJ's tastes better. At 2 loaves a week it's only $250 a year, but multiply that by almost every item you consume and it adds up.
I'll give another example... 7th generation (diapers for example) is based out of Vermont yet you can't buy the stuff for anywhere in Vermont less than Amazon.
Another example VERMONT BREAD company is cheaper in New Jersey at Whole Foods than it is anywhere in Vermont.
I have gone to local stores, paid more and treated like junk, so I will never go there again.
For local perishable food, I buy local as much as possible, (eggs, milk are a no brainer, cheese not so much) but that is different--they are readily available all year round, reasonable cost and high quality.
Nobody is growing oranges here in Vermont so I can have Trader Joe's Organic or Tropicana from local store for more money.
So our strategy for now is to mix and match. Any good quality in season items are obtained locally if the price isn't completely exorbitant. We just could not afford to buy all local all the time.
What I don't like are Farmer's markets that sell crap that aren't food. I don't want your knick-nacks, I want FOOD.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Costaexpress
Just because people are local doesn't mean that they are superior people. It's a misconception.
Unable to make sense of this.
Mandalorian does't want to see knick-naks at farmer's markets and this leads to the comment that it is a misconception that local people are superior. Will the next comment be about how many cats can sit on a sofa?
Makes no difference whether local folks are superior or not, we're talking about quality products and whether it makes personal financial sense if this costs more to buy it locally. Several comments on the additional financial benefits of buying locally as well as at what point it makes financial sense to order from Amazon or purchase at chain stores.
Also makes no difference if folks sell jewelry, homemade soaps, dog biscuits or bejeweled flyswatters at farmer's markets. Easy enough to walk past those tents.
Last edited by GotHereQuickAsICould; 08-31-2014 at 07:08 AM..
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