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Boulder County Farmers Markets
The 2022 farmers market season kicks off Saturday, April 2, at 8 a.m. in Longmont and Boulder. If you’re a regular market-goer, you’ve been counting down the long 133 days since the last market of 2021, and you probably already know how shopping at farmers markets reduces carbon footprints, just plain tastes better, and connects you to your community. But if you’re new on the block, here are a few reasons to shop at the farmers market this week (and every week thereafter).
Want to leave the planet better than you found it? Locally grown produce is a good place to start. How far your food travels has a substantial effect on our environment.
Let’s say that eggplant you just turned into a curry was grown in Florida. It traveled about 2,000 miles to arrive on the shelf of your Colorado grocery store. That’s a lot of mileage, fuel and days of travel before you get to eat your eggplant Parmesan.
But if you opt for buying a fairytale eggplant, grown locally by Aspen Moon Farm in Hygiene, it will only have traveled about 15 miles. Reducing your carbon footprint and supporting the farmers who are using regenerative farming practices that support soil health and enhance ecosystem biodiversity is a win-win for the planet.
At the grocery store, produce is often picked well before it is ready so that it doesn’t rot before reaching customers. Ever had a strawberry from the grocery store that tasted like nothing? It was probably picked while green, then chemically forced to ripen.
Our farmers wake up well before the sunrise on Saturday mornings to harvest produce to sell at our markets the very same day. Picked at the peak of ripeness, you won’t catch preservatives or any forced ripening happening at the market. Which is a good case for eating that palette of peaches at lightspeed. We’re not complaining.
The average take-home pay for a farmer selling to a grocery store is 7.8 cents per dollar, according to a study in the Washington Post, versus about 94 cents per dollar farmers take home at our markets. What’s more, the percentage BCFM takes is redirected back to reinvesting in our local food community.
Supporting farmers supports your local food economy. It’s that forehead-slappingly simple.
Farmers markets are more than just a shopping opportunity. They connect us to our neighbors, growers, ranchers and friends. Sure, you might run into someone annoying from work, but at least the produce is amazing.
Where else can you shake the hand of the farmer who grew your potatoes? Or listen to live music in between stocking up on goat cheese and greens for the week? Once you know the name of the beekkeeper who sells your honey, there will be no going back to honey from the grocery store. We promise that you’ll come for the gorgeous produce and pastries, but you’ll stay for the community connection.
We are so excited for this season of markets. You’ll recognize your old favorites like peaches from Morton’s Organic orchards, pasture-raised meat from SkyPilot Farm and coffee from Silver Canyon Coffee, plus lots of new soon-to-be-staples like soft pretzels from XLVII Bakery, creamy hummus from Yummy Yummy, and all the fresh veggies from The Jolly Radish Farm. See you this Saturday, April 2, when markets open at 8 a.m., on 13th Street in Boulder or at the Longmont Fairgrounds.
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Boulder County Farmers Markets: At the Markets: Farmers markets benefit more than your tastebuds – Boulder Daily Camera
