Happy Farmers Market Week!

Did you know that August 3-9 is National Farmers Market Week? Attending our local farmers markets has been something we’ve been proud to take part in for over thirty years and we love getting to connect with our customers and share our seasonal bounty.

Farmers markets are the absolute best way to get your hands on locally grown food picked at the peak of freshness while directly supporting your local farmers and food system. By supporting farmers over nationwide grocery chains you also put your dollars behind a commitment to sustainable agriculture where the local ecosystem is prioritized over the needs of the bottom line and we work with the land to produce food in a manner that will regenerate and revitalize the land over time.

We also see farmers markets as a way to fight food insecurity in our communities. Your generous support of our farm each weekend allows us to pay it forward and partner with local organizations and donate food on a regular basis.

Here are our top tips for shopping at the farmers market:

• Shop online first and pre-order for farmers market pick up! We sell out of items quickly and can’t guarantee that everything will be at the market each weekend, especially when it comes to meat. Pre-ordering means you’ll reserve your picks ahead of time to avoid disappointment.
• Understand our pricing. As you know, we aren’t a big box store and that means we can’t produce food at the same volume that they can. As a smaller organic operation we also don’t (and can’t) cut any corners in our practices. All of that means our costs are higher than what you’ll find at the supermarket but we know that it’s worth it for the freshness, quality, and nutritional aspects of our produce and meat.
• Ask us when the produce was picked. We’ll point you in the direction of what’s the most fresh on offer that day and if something is sold out, we’ll let you know when it’ll be picked next and available for purchase.
• Don’t have your heart set on a specific variety of produce. Every farmer grows different varieties and if you let us know what you’re looking for we can suggest something comparable for you to try.
• This might sound a little silly, but please don’t squeeze the tomatoes! They bruise and puncture quite easily and ripeness can be determined by observing their color shading. When in doubt you can ask us to pick some ripe ones out for you but we often suggest purchasing tomatoes that are almost ready to eat so they’ll last the week.
• And of course, if you have any other questions, please ask!

As a reminder, here is our current farmers market schedule:

THURSDAYS: Lexington Farmers Market, National Avenue, 8am-1pm

SATURDAYS: Lexington Farmers Market, Downtown 8am-2pm AND Georgetown/Scott County Farmers Market, Downtown, 8:30am-12:30pm

SUNDAYS: Lexington Farmers Market, Southland Drive, 10am-2pm AND Hyde Park Farmers Market, Cincinnati, 9:30am-1pm

Other farmers market resources:

• A directory of farmers markets from the USDA
• Another resource for finding your local farmers market with an opportunity to vote for your favorite