Please tell me you’ve bitten into a fresh-out-of-the-ground strawberry? Or you know what a tomato, just off the vine, smells like? Have you ever picked up a warm, just-laid egg? If the answer to any of these questions is no, I think it is high time you bike on over to your area’s farmer’s market and get to know your local farmers. Take time to get to learn about your food and the hands that make it! Supporting local farmers not only benefits your taste buds and health, but it keeps money in our community!
It’s a fact:
Locally grown food tastes and looks better. The crops are picked at their peak for the very best flavor. Livestock products are processed in nearby facilities and typically the farmer has a direct relationship with processors and is able to oversee the entire process.
Local food is better for you! With a shorter time between the farm and your table, you don’t lose nearly the nutrients that you do when your food is packaged and shipped from all over the country.
Local food is safe. There’s a level of assurance that comes from looking a farmer in the eye at farmers market or driving by the fields where your food comes from. Ask questions and go take a tour of the farm. I’ve found most farmers love when people show interest in them and the food that they work so hard to produce.
Local food supports local families. Did you know that the wholesale prices that farmers get for their products are very low, often barely above the cost of production? Local farmers who sell directly to consumers cut out the middleman and get full retail price for their food!
Stores that sell local produce/meat & farmers markets in our community:
Stewart’s Market: 311 Anastasia Boulevard, St. Augustine, FL 32080. Open 7days per week. 9am-7pm.
St. Augustine Beach Farmers Market: St. Johns County Ocean Pier, 350 A1A Beach Blvd., St. Augustine Beach. Free parking and admission. Every Wednesday 7:30am-12:30pm.
Old City Farmers Market: Located at The St. Augustine Amphitheater. Free parking and admission. Every Saturday 8:30am-12:30pm.
County Line Produce: 848 State Road 207, Hastings, FL 32145. Open 7 days per week mid-November through mid-June 8am-6pm.
Nocatee Farmers Market: County Road 210 East/Palm Valley Road (from U.S. 1 North) to Nocatee ParkwayTime. Open on the third Saturday of every month from 12pm – 4pm.
Market at Vilano Beach: Vilano Beach Pier Pavilion, 206 Vilano Beach (from A1A north, past the Vilano Bridge). Sundays, from 12pm – 4pm
The Farmers Market at the World Golf Village: One World Golf Place, St. Augustine, FL, 32092. Second Friday of the month from 3pm-7pm (reopens March 13, 2015!)
Local food delivery services:
