The State Farmers Market in Raleigh is perhaps one of the most comprehensive shopping experiences in North Carolina. New Raleigh likes sustainable living, and we are dedicated to helping bring fresh, local food to your dinner table. In the coming weeks, New Raleigh will be exploring different vendors at the Farmer’s Market, so that you know your choices for locally grown seasonal produce, antibiotic and hormone free meats, dairy, and eggs, locally raised honey, herbs, shrubs, houseplants, and the very wide range of lower-carbon products available to you inside the beltline.
As a primer, we’ve put together some tips on how to use the Farmers Market effectively:
1. Eat seasonally available produce. Not only is it the ripest, freshest, best tasting, and juiciest red strawberry you’ve ever had, but your supporting a local farmer, and cutting down your food mileage. Click HERE to Enlarge this Seasonal Availability Chart
2. Definitely go inside, especially if you’ve never been. Many people don’t even realize there’s an entire building of indoor vendors—this is where the meats, cheeses, and treats are!
3. For the best produce selection, go early in the week. Most farmer’s restock their stands with the freshest produce on Monday or Tuesday. Sometimes the produce on the weekend is not the pick of the litter—but you can bet it’s still more fresh than most of what you’ll find at your local grocery store.
4. Everyone’s open on the weekend. Hands down, the weekend, especially first thing Saturday morning, is your best shot to get everything you need. Don’t go too late on Saturday or Sunday for that special item—many vendors sell out of popular items quickly—such as local, raw honey.
5. Get cash before you go. There is a Cash Points right in the middle of the action, but the line can get really long on the weekend.
6. Country cookin’ on the left, seafood on the right. The restaurants at the Farmer’s Market are great for breakfast, lunch, or early dinner. Check out the Farmers Market Restaurant and the Farmer’s Market Seafood Restaurant on New Raleigh for hours before you go.
7. Take your kids. This highly stimulating environment can be a great educational tool (and it’s fun to look at all that stuff!) You want to taste North Carolina culture? This is IT.
Tips by VaNC
8. If you go on Saturday morning, when it is usually JAM PACKED, hold on to young kids hands TIGHT! I hate seeing the parents running through the tightly packed crowd frantically looking for toddlers. Tears me up! I understand that it is a fun environment for them to see, but hold on to them.
9. Talk to the farmers and get to know them. After a few visits, you will have your favorites and get some good info from them.
10. Be aware the first building you come to on the right, the produce HAS to be grown in North Carolina. But do not assume it is grown in a field. If you are seeing tomatoes right now, for instance, they are likely hothouse grown. Pay attention to the seasonal chart above or ask the vendor. They will tell you.
11. The second building, farther up the hill on the right, where the meat and cheese are, the produce does not have to be from NC. Not much different than buying from your local grocery store.
12. There is also a wholesale building on the FAR right, open to the public on Saturday mornings. You can buy by the case there for a better price. So, if you are canning or having a party, go there.
13. If you have not been, go to Nahunta pork center....the sausage is great, as well as other things.
Please let us know if we’ve left anything out…
photos by Adrienne
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