GA State Farmer's Market

Saturday it was 75˚. With a forecast like that, our family had to get outside. My husband suggested The State Farmers Market. We had never been to this particular farmers market so it sounded like a great idea to the rest of us.

Grocery money in hand, canvas totes on shoulder, and mouths watering for some fresh Georgia produce we headed to Forest Park. Now you may be wondering why The Everyday Organic hasn’t been to The State Farmers Market yet. Well, it’s a good 38 miles from my house making it a not so eco-friendly shopping option. But considering it’s the only way I can keep you informed, it was a necessary evil at least once.

Our first stop was the welcome center where we were certainly welcomed and encouraged to take copies of the recipes provided by The Ga. Dept. of Agriculture. The sweet lady inside also took time to familiarize us with a map of the market. Perfect! We were ready to go.

Now back outside, we looked at the map and surveyed our surroundings. Where to begin? Wait a minute…why can’t I read those signs? Ah, cuz their not in English. Hmmm? I’m not feelin’ the local vibe just yet.

We meander through and meet an American farmer, a southerner to be sure-accent and all. Here we go. “HI” I say all bright-eyed and enthusiastic, “where’s your farm?” He answers, with arms spread wide, “The World!” Wrong Answer. The world? I can get that a mile down the street at the grocery store. We quickly realized that most of those there were distributors not farmers.

The stalls designated “Georgia Farmers” were completely empty. Perhaps because it’s later in the day and they’ve completely sold out and gone home. No such luck. Come to find out; because I did call back and ask, the few Georgia farmers that do still come are there April with the first crop of Vidalia onions through November with the greens.

We did manage to buy some Ga pecans that were grown and packaged right here in Georgia. The price of that bag went from $8.50-$7-$5.50 depending on which stall you were at. Lucky for us we didn’t shell out any money until we reached $5.50. They were delicious and well worth every penny!

So there you have it. In our search for local produce, we’re keeping our carbon footprints teeny tiny and close to home next time. And when given the chance to support the small local farmers in your area, please do so.