Get the Most Bang for Your Buck at Farmer's Markets

I've been raving about how awesome farmer's markets are, and I don't think I can stop it. I went to my downtown farmer's market this past Saturday-- not quite surprising, is it?

See, lots of people, lots of entertainment, and lots of booths.

In addition to reiterating the awesomeness of farmer's markets, and displaying the pictures I snapped on my most recent farmer's market trip, I want to share a couple of tips on how to get the most bang for your buck at farmer's markets.

1. If the farmer's market that you go to is open multiple days a week, go on the day(s) when it's the busiest

Find out which day(s) has the most vendors present. Thanks to technology, the internet makes this easily accessible, unless your farmer's market doesn't have a website... which would mean they are lagging behind on technology-- even I have a website. Haha! In all seriousness, if this information is not available on the web, ask the vendors or the information booth at your farmer's market directly.

Reason: more vendors = more competition. More competition = more selection. More selection = lower prices. Here's a great analogy... I was watching an episode of The Great Food Truck Race on the Food Network the other day. When the competing teams had the freedom to park their trucks and serve customers at a location of their choosing, they were charging each menu item with whatever dollar amount came to their minds at the start of the competing day-- talk about monopoly. When the competing teams were forced to battle bumper-to-bumper on the same street with all the teams, competition forced the teams to slash prices to beat the other competitors' prices. This form of competition in economics theory also applies at farmer's markets.

Example: my downtown farmer's market is open on Saturdays and Tuesdays (I have only shopped there on Saturdays). I went last Tuesday, and before going, I looked online to scoop out the vendors who will be present (mainly because I wanted to see which food booth I wanted to have for dinner). It did not take long for me to notice that the vendors present on Tuesdays only reflect a small fraction of the vendors present on Saturdays. I went anyway.

With less vendors, less competition, and less selection, the same crops available on Saturdays are marked up on Tuesdays (I went again the following Saturday to reverify). What I can purchase on Saturdays would cost me more $ on Tuesdays. If I can stretch out my dollar further on Saturdays, when more vendors are present, logic tells me I should avoid going on Tuesdays. Plus, more vendors = more to choose from. It also mean more food booths available! Thumbs up to win-win-win for the consumer!

2. Buy crops when they are at their peak, or immediately after

Example: at the start of peach season, peaches are still young and blooming. They are still superior to grocery store peaches: they taste better, and will usually still beat the prices of grocery store peaches. However, when peaches reach their peak, all the booths that sell peaches have much sweeter and cheaper peaches.

I started canning last year and I have become a crazy-canning lady. Unfortunately, my dinky porch is not conducive for harvesting any fruit trees. What a bummer. Since I have to rely on buying my fruit, and I now can a lot, waiting until the prices are more econmical is most optimal. Here's another area where you can stretch out your dollar at farmer's markets. Wait a little longer and snatch peaches when they are cheaper, and sweeter. Win-win scenario for the consumer :)

* Notes: All information is based on my opinion derived from my observations. What I see at my farmer's market(s) may not be a generalization of all farmer's markets. Make observations at yours and note the similiarities and differences. Happy shopping, and may you find lots of bargains at your farmer's market.

♥ Yen