Local Farmer's Market a Big Disappointment

Wish I could say otherwise, but it just wouldn't be true.

At 9 am (the reported opening time of the market), I arrived at what amounted to a tiny farm stand in the parking lot of a dying strip mall. I'd planned on taking photos to post here, but there just wasn't much at all to snap.

The variety was small, and the produce was pretty pricey. The enormous man working the table (OK, there were 4 tables in total, three of them his) seemed more concerned with selling his pies than the grown goods. Nothing had prices displayed, and some of the groceries had been tagged with store-coding tags -- a big turn-off for me because I expected them to be straight from the farm like the other produce there.

I left with some green beans, 2 squashes (zucchini and yellow), and some hugely overpriced basil. To the basil's defense, it was delicious in a sandwich I just made with fresh mozzarella cheese and roma tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

After leaving the parking lot, I went to our local "Farmer's Market" store, which had far more variety and better quality produce. I'm just sad about having to do that since I wanted to support local growers. Oh well. I'll try again when I visit Mom's local market in Morristown.

Speaking of supporting local folks, I also stopped at one of my local health food stores, the George Street Coop in New Brunswick. I'm not a member, but I've been shopping there for at least 7 years. They have a local Lebanese baker who makes the BEST whole wheat pitas and spinach pies. The prices on these are super-cheapie, so don't miss 'em if you venture to the Coop.