farmers market organic — Healthy Belly, Happy Child: a food blog

We have all heard by now that eating organic fruits and vegetables is ideal, but why is this? Is organic produce nutritionally superior? Well, the short answer is no. Studies have found no significant difference in nutrition between organically grown produce versus conventionally grown produce. So, does it taste better? Well, yes it does! In most cases, this is true.

But there's more to it just than taste and nutrition. Organic and sustainable farming practices are more aligned with traditional farming methods. There’s an emphasis on eating locally grown produce that is grown without the use of chemical pesticides. This means that the growers do not have to pick the fruits and veggies before they’re ripe so that they can travel great distances on cargo ships to get to your local grocery store. When produce is cultivated for its physical appearance and it’s longevity or shelf life, it is not allowed to reach it’s full flavor potential. Have you tasted an heirloom tomato and compared it to a conventionally grown tomato? There’s a big difference in its texture and taste. The conventionally grown tomato tastes like cardboard. This is because it was not allowed to fully ripen before it was picked and was then processed, sprayed with preservatives, and travelled thousands of miles for a beautiful display at the supermarket.

So, aside from taste and the global treck that most produce take these days to get to your grocery store, why else should we care about eating organic foods? The most concerning issue in conventional farming has to do with the widespread use of systemic pesticides. These pesticides, many of which are so new that they lack enough scientific data on their long term safety on the human body, cannot be washed away by rinsing your fruit or veggies under water, or vinegar solution. Systemic pesticides have, essentially, become a part of that strawberry.

But organic fruits and vegetables are expensive, very expensive. Yes, this is usually true, but it doesn’t have to be!

We’ve been advocating shopping for fresh fruits and veggies at your local farmer’s market for several reasons, including the fact that farmer’s markets offer the most affordable way to buy organically grown produce. The beautiful, organic veggies in the picture above all came from our local farmer’s market.

Organic head of cauliflower $2.50 per head compared to $2.99 per lb at the grocery store
Organic carrots $2.00 per bunch (approximately 7-8 carrots)
Organic beets $2.50 for a bunch (3 large beets)
Organic zucchini and yellow squash $2.00 per lb

To find your local farmer’s market click here for the farmer’s market locator.

✿ Many farmer’s markets are now participating in the Market Match. Market Match is a program that doubles the CalFresh EBT (also known as food stamps) that you spend on fresh fruits and vegetables. So, if you spend $20 at the farmer’s market, Market Match will give you an additional $20 to spend that same day. Now this is a great way to get your organic or locally grown non-organic fruits and vegetables!