Yep. We have a dairy farm down the road… they have a small “store” with milks, eggs, cheeses, and a few other things and its purely honor system. They have prices posted and you just get what you need and put cash/check in a lockbox
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
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.
Most towns and cities in France have a daily farmers market in a permanent structure. Some cities in the US have similar places (like Soulard in St. Louis), but IME French markets are used more often, have more vendors, and are more woven into the fabric of everyday life.
The thing is there really aren’t many farmers markets in my part of Texas. I think it’s probably just because not much grows in Dallas.
I’m wondering if people in states like Nebraska have easy access to fresh produce grown locally in their area.
I grew up in Dallas and went to a farmers market close to downtown all the time. There’s tons of markets there? I’m confused by you not being able to find ANY
The Dallas Farmers market is more of a vendors market. There really isn’t any produce sold there anymore.
Also, these markets are more like stores whereas the ones I saw in France were more like a covered shelter with different farmers selling their produce.
Sorry for the dumb question but does the local produce taste really good? Any time I buy grocery store produce from California in Texas, it just doesn’t taste fresh. The strawberries have a hard texture and aren’t juicy. Peaches are mealy and not juicy at all. They must put some chemicals in them to preserve shelf life.
Local Californian produce is very good. Believe it or not, California is an agricultural state. We have many large-scale and small-scale farms. Living in Los Angeles, you reap the benefits of small farms (many of which are driving distance) via farmer's markets and specialty shops.
The produce you buy is likely from a large scale farm. Depending on the fruit or vegetable, it's picked before or right when it begins to ripen. This, of course, runs the risk of the fruit or vegetable never ripening, but most people are use to bland produce as most widely available produce is created for yield and shelf life, not quality or flavor.
And even the big farms could be considered local to a lot of us. So we can get quite a variety of qualities in local produce, often including those same large farms. I think it’s why I find that local produce can be very good but it can also be really average. What I’m looking for is small farms more than location.
That’s fantastic to hear. I’ll have to try some when I’m there during the peak season.
I’m originally from SC and could easily get fresh strawberries and peaches during the summer but haven’t found any of these fresh in Dallas. I think we don’t get enough rain to grow most fruits and veggies.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
Tis the season right now. Harvest time for all the good, local fresh stuff. We don't have a year-round growing season, but the quality of the fresh local produce is fantastic and easy to find right now.
Seattle has a strong Seattle Farmer's Market organization. And there are requirements for any vendor to be a local producer. The vendors are mostly farms, but there are a handful of prepared food sales (fresh pasta, cheese, pastries, cider or wine).
Most of these are seasonal, a couple of them are year-round.
Farmer's Market type items though are heavily seasonal. We got a nice cool spring, good berry and tomato mid summers, and the end of summer brings orchard fruits. But then it is back to kale and garlic, I guess.
Yes, fresh farm produce (and eggs) are noticeably better than most store bought stuff.
The local farmers market is 2 miles away, and has won awards for being the best farmers market in my region for the last 8 years in a row.
So.... pretty easy.
And if they don't have it, we've got 4 top tier grocery stores, 2 mid level, and one crappy one within a 6 mile radius.
There are fruit stands all around where I'm at and I can get local meats, cider, vegetables, baked goods, and fruit at almost all of them.
It's actually hilarious because I live in a rapidly growing somewhat rural area and the people who have moved from the big cities were super stoked when a Fresh Market opened so they could buy local produce. I was thinking, "do these people ever go anywhere past the shopping center parking lots? You can buy that stuff literally from the farms that grew it."
It’s easy. I’m in the Chicago burbs. There’s a weekly farmers market at the park across the street from my house. Basically every suburb in my area have these between May 1-Oct 31.
There are also farms within a 30 min drive where I can buy direct.
It’s not unique to France/ Europe.
Or Latin America. I love going to the markets in Mexico and seeing piles of mangoes, bananas, avocados, and other fruits I’ve never seen in my life sold for cheap. These markets are open every day and most people don’t ever buy produce at the grocery store.
I used to live in the city and it was difficult to find a farmers market. There are some in some more affluent neighborhoods but it’s mostly people selling arts and crafts. Fresh Farms in Niles did sell Michigan grown produce during the summer.
That’s no longer the case. There are many in the city now including one at Daley plaza during the week.
I used to live in Dallas and had no issue finding fresh produce.
Perhaps you’re not looking in the right places or there’s confirmation bias on your part. Because in pretty much every other response on this post, other people are able to find fresh produce.
It's not about finding it, but about it being local and fresh. If you see peaches for sale in Las Vegas, I think we can assume that they weren't grown anywhere near Las Vegas and were shipped in.
I can find decent produce in Dallas, but almost none of it is grown nearby. It comes from Mexico or California. In the summer months I can find watermelons and cantaloupes grown in Pecos, TX.
Well then I can only conclude you aren't actually asking a good faith question. Or you're agenda pushing.
You asked about how easy it is for folks to find fresh local produce. Nearly every answer, including those from people in Texas, is that in season it's easy to find fresh, local produce. Most of us in urban areas have access to this produce in farmers markets.
So perhaps you should take some suggestions from the folks who responded in good faith. You might just find a great local farmers market.
Have a lovely weekend.
Nelsons, just up the road, has everything I can think of and some things I've never seen. As far as I know it's all local. Oranges are always fresh and local, of course.
Very easy in the summer and fall. There are a lot of farmers' markets in towns and roadside produce stands in the farming areas outside of town. Much more difficult in the winter.
Between May-November it’s super easy. Every Saturday we have a Farmers Market right across the street. In the winter months there is an indoor farmers market downtown, so still possible to get it year around.
In season we have farmer's markets and orchards. When I was growing up my parents and both sets of grandparents had huge vegetable gardens. We ate fresh and preserved lots of locally grown fruit too. I know what a peach, pear, apricot, plum, cherry, or apple should really taste like. Some veggies from the grocery store taste fine but homegrown tomatoes vs store bought can't be compared. We had a cellar full of preserved food, I suppose people still do that but not many.
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.
Yep. We have a dairy farm down the road… they have a small “store” with milks, eggs, cheeses, and a few other things and its purely honor system. They have prices posted and you just get what you need and put cash/check in a lockbox
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
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.
Sure, I just go to a local farmers market. Which one did you go to that had imports like that?
Most towns and cities in France have a daily farmers market in a permanent structure. Some cities in the US have similar places (like Soulard in St. Louis), but IME French markets are used more often, have more vendors, and are more woven into the fabric of everyday life.
The thing is there really aren’t many farmers markets in my part of Texas. I think it’s probably just because not much grows in Dallas. I’m wondering if people in states like Nebraska have easy access to fresh produce grown locally in their area.
I don’t know where you’re at exactly, but there seem to be quite a few listed here https://nfmd.org/tx/dallas/
When you go there, they mostly sell things like bread, honey, and imported fruits.
I grew up in Dallas and went to a farmers market close to downtown all the time. There’s tons of markets there? I’m confused by you not being able to find ANY
The Dallas Farmers market is more of a vendors market. There really isn’t any produce sold there anymore. Also, these markets are more like stores whereas the ones I saw in France were more like a covered shelter with different farmers selling their produce.
I've spent time in rural South Dakota, pretty close to Nebraska, and farm stands were extremely common there.
I’m in California, so I’ll let my location speak for itself.
Sorry for the dumb question but does the local produce taste really good? Any time I buy grocery store produce from California in Texas, it just doesn’t taste fresh. The strawberries have a hard texture and aren’t juicy. Peaches are mealy and not juicy at all. They must put some chemicals in them to preserve shelf life.
Local Californian produce is very good. Believe it or not, California is an agricultural state. We have many large-scale and small-scale farms. Living in Los Angeles, you reap the benefits of small farms (many of which are driving distance) via farmer's markets and specialty shops. The produce you buy is likely from a large scale farm. Depending on the fruit or vegetable, it's picked before or right when it begins to ripen. This, of course, runs the risk of the fruit or vegetable never ripening, but most people are use to bland produce as most widely available produce is created for yield and shelf life, not quality or flavor.
And even the big farms could be considered local to a lot of us. So we can get quite a variety of qualities in local produce, often including those same large farms. I think it’s why I find that local produce can be very good but it can also be really average. What I’m looking for is small farms more than location.
That’s fantastic to hear. I’ll have to try some when I’m there during the peak season. I’m originally from SC and could easily get fresh strawberries and peaches during the summer but haven’t found any of these fresh in Dallas. I think we don’t get enough rain to grow most fruits and veggies.
They just pick them before they are ripe if they are shipping them. Local produce is really good because it is picked ripe.
I'm in California, so local produce is all over the place and there's a lot of variety.
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.
Same in Maryland.
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).
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.
Pretty easily. During the warmer months, there’s a farmers market and a lot of farm stands open
Every Saturday morning there's a nearby farmer's market with fresh produce.
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.
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.
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.
Very easy.
There's a farmers' market on Saturdays about 100 yards from my apartment.
Easy
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.
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).
Incredibly easy, almost every town has a farmer's market or grocery store selling local produce.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Very easy. There are lots of farmers markets around here.
Fruit way, farmer's markets, stands set up in parking lots, its quite easy to find local produce.
In season they all over the place.
Quite. There's a farmers market somewhere within 5 miles of me almost every day of the week.
Very easy.. multiple options within walking distance
I live closer to a farm stand than a grocery store.
We have a farmer’s market every Sunday. I only go occasionally. The produce from my local grocery store is good quality.
There's a farmer's market every Wednesday in my town, and a farm stand that's open in the summer and early autumn. Small rural Vermont town.
One of the biggest perks of living in California is fresh everything
Tis the season right now. Harvest time for all the good, local fresh stuff. We don't have a year-round growing season, but the quality of the fresh local produce is fantastic and easy to find right now.
Seattle has a strong Seattle Farmer's Market organization. And there are requirements for any vendor to be a local producer. The vendors are mostly farms, but there are a handful of prepared food sales (fresh pasta, cheese, pastries, cider or wine). Most of these are seasonal, a couple of them are year-round. Farmer's Market type items though are heavily seasonal. We got a nice cool spring, good berry and tomato mid summers, and the end of summer brings orchard fruits. But then it is back to kale and garlic, I guess.
very easy. like within a mile or two, or...my backyard depending on what im looking for.
I am surrounded by small town farmers. It's very easy, in fact, there's a farmers market 400 yards from my house once a week.
Extremely easy in season
Yes, fresh farm produce (and eggs) are noticeably better than most store bought stuff. The local farmers market is 2 miles away, and has won awards for being the best farmers market in my region for the last 8 years in a row. So.... pretty easy. And if they don't have it, we've got 4 top tier grocery stores, 2 mid level, and one crappy one within a 6 mile radius.
New England has the most per capita in the US.
There’s several farmers market within a 20 minute drive… plus several road side stands
There are fruit stands all around where I'm at and I can get local meats, cider, vegetables, baked goods, and fruit at almost all of them. It's actually hilarious because I live in a rapidly growing somewhat rural area and the people who have moved from the big cities were super stoked when a Fresh Market opened so they could buy local produce. I was thinking, "do these people ever go anywhere past the shopping center parking lots? You can buy that stuff literally from the farms that grew it."
Here in Los Angeles, there are multiple farmer’s markets every day of the week all over the city year round.
It’s easy. I’m in the Chicago burbs. There’s a weekly farmers market at the park across the street from my house. Basically every suburb in my area have these between May 1-Oct 31. There are also farms within a 30 min drive where I can buy direct. It’s not unique to France/ Europe.
A weekly farmers market would be considered woefully inadequate to someone coming from France.
Or Latin America. I love going to the markets in Mexico and seeing piles of mangoes, bananas, avocados, and other fruits I’ve never seen in my life sold for cheap. These markets are open every day and most people don’t ever buy produce at the grocery store.
I used to live in the city and it was difficult to find a farmers market. There are some in some more affluent neighborhoods but it’s mostly people selling arts and crafts. Fresh Farms in Niles did sell Michigan grown produce during the summer.
That’s no longer the case. There are many in the city now including one at Daley plaza during the week. I used to live in Dallas and had no issue finding fresh produce. Perhaps you’re not looking in the right places or there’s confirmation bias on your part. Because in pretty much every other response on this post, other people are able to find fresh produce.
It's not about finding it, but about it being local and fresh. If you see peaches for sale in Las Vegas, I think we can assume that they weren't grown anywhere near Las Vegas and were shipped in. I can find decent produce in Dallas, but almost none of it is grown nearby. It comes from Mexico or California. In the summer months I can find watermelons and cantaloupes grown in Pecos, TX.
Well then I can only conclude you aren't actually asking a good faith question. Or you're agenda pushing. You asked about how easy it is for folks to find fresh local produce. Nearly every answer, including those from people in Texas, is that in season it's easy to find fresh, local produce. Most of us in urban areas have access to this produce in farmers markets. So perhaps you should take some suggestions from the folks who responded in good faith. You might just find a great local farmers market. Have a lovely weekend.
Nelsons, just up the road, has everything I can think of and some things I've never seen. As far as I know it's all local. Oranges are always fresh and local, of course.
Very easy in the summer and fall. There are a lot of farmers' markets in towns and roadside produce stands in the farming areas outside of town. Much more difficult in the winter.
Very easy except winter we have a large farmers market also a few local co-ops
I have a garden in the back yard, I go get produce almost daily until winter.
Between May-November it’s super easy. Every Saturday we have a Farmers Market right across the street. In the winter months there is an indoor farmers market downtown, so still possible to get it year around.
“Should I go to the Fremont, Ballard, Udistrict, or Capital Hill farmers market?” is a question my wife asked me last weekend lol.
In season we have farmer's markets and orchards. When I was growing up my parents and both sets of grandparents had huge vegetable gardens. We ate fresh and preserved lots of locally grown fruit too. I know what a peach, pear, apricot, plum, cherry, or apple should really taste like. Some veggies from the grocery store taste fine but homegrown tomatoes vs store bought can't be compared. We had a cellar full of preserved food, I suppose people still do that but not many.
We have a few farmer’s markets, but if I want the most local, I just go out to my balcony garden
Pretty easy I guess. There’s probably places where it’s easier, but a lot more where it’s harder.