Benefits of Your Local Farmer’s Market

Spring heralds the opening of our local Farmer’s Market in Marquette!

Troy Graham sings and plays the harpsichord to entertain patrons of the first Farmer’s Market of the 2014 season at the Commons in Marquette, MI. (Marquette Magazine photo by Ron Caspi)

Marquette, MI – The warmer weather is finally here making fresh local foods available again every Saturday at the Marquette Commons.  If you’re not already hooked on shopping your local Farmer’s Market here are some benefits of Your Local Farmer’s Market!

The time of year has finally arrived when local farmers are setting up stands across Michigan to offer their goods to customers and neighboring communities. Summer is our prized harvest, the season’s bounty, the time of year to get your fill and to find endless, creative ways to preserve the bounty through the other nine months. If you aren’t fortunate enough to have your own garden planted this summer, you can still be one of the millions shopping at Farmer’s Markets; getting the most nutrient dense and flavorful food that the world has to offer, alleviating transportation costs of goods and supporting the families in your area.

Fresh greens from the Seeds-N-Spores Farm at the farmer’s market in Marquette, MI. (photo by Erica McMillan)

Fruits and veggies are some of the highest sources of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which fight disease and prevent cancer. The richer the color, the higher the concentration of polyphenols, and the wider the variety of colors that you eat, the greater your body’s defense is to combating illness. Local and organic produce contains the highest levels of the good stuff. The best market picks for late spring are rhubarb and asparagus. Rhubarb is known for soaking up cholesterol and flushing it out, keeping heart disease at bay, and preventing certain cancers. It also provides a nice dose of vitamin C, which will keep your immune system happy and your skin supple through the long sunny months.

Fresh greens at the farmer’s market in Marquette, MI. (photo by Erica McMillan)

Asparagus offers high contents of folate, a B vitamin, and vitamin E, providing a healthy heart and pancreas to combat those summer days that are filled with grilled meats and ice cream cones. Your best market picks throughout the summer are watermelon, tomatoes and blueberries. Watermelon and tomatoes contains high levels of lycopene which reduce skin damage and redness caused from the sun. Blueberries are one of the most all around nutrient dense foods you can find, so stock up and enjoy during their growing season.

Shipping our food from country to country and state to state is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas. You can reduce your carbon footprint considerably, just by stopping at your local farmer’s market before the grocery store to see what is in season and grown right in your neighborhood. The food in your grocery store travels on average, between 1,500 and 2,500 miles.

Tomatoes alone travel approximately 1,600 miles and are picked far before they are ripe; they are packaged for long distance travel, refrigerated to maintain freshness and then fumigated to initiate a false ripening for shoppers. It is no secret that store bought tomatoes have little flavor, and coincidently, little nutrition. A head of lettuce that travels from California to the Midwest uses 36 times more fossil fuel energy in transportation than it provides in food energy. Cutting down on the transportation of our foods could reduce our contribution to greenhouse gases.

Jeff Heidtman smiles from behind fresh flowers locally grown on his farm in Skandia. Jeff creates floral arrangements for weddings and special occasions. (photo by Erica McMillan)

Farmer’s Markets are currently on a steady increase across the country and the customer base is at an all time high. Fifteen years ago the U.S. offered 1,755 markets while today there are 3,100 from coast to coast, bringing in three million people each week. These small markets of locally produced food, sold by the farmers and their families, are reaping in about a billion dollars every year. In Michigan alone, we have gone from 90 markets in 2001 to over 280 today. The food is fresh, picked at its peek ripeness, full of flavor and nutrition, and usually grown without the use of pesticides and other harmful chemicals.

By supporting local farmers you will also be saving money, and keeping your money local, compared to shopping at box stores where less than 20% of what you spend stays in your state, or even your country. Giving your money directly to the farmer cuts out middle man costs and gives you a sense of security about where your product came from and who you supported.

Michigan does offer a range of products throughout the entire year, including maple syrup in the spring and apples in the fall, but it is summer that the gardens come to life and the local colors of fresh produce are at their peek.. Shop local for a healthier planet, for a healthier family and to enjoy the benefits from this season’s bounty.

Enjoy rhubarb at your next barbeque by glazing or marinating your meats in this Rhubarb-Orange Sauce:

12oz trimmed and diced rhubarb (discard all leaves, only using the stalks)

¾ cup minced onion

¼ cup fresh orange juice

3 Tbls honey

2 Tbls golden raisins

2 teas grated fresh ginger

Combine all ingredient in a large saucepan, bring to a boil and stir frequently, then reduce heat and continue to cook for five minutes or until rhubarb is tender.

Watermelon and Tomato Salad

2 pints cherry tomatoes cut in half

5 cups (1 inch) cubed watermelon

6-8 ounces feta cheese

mint, basil, drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients and serve chilled after a long day in the sun!

by Candace Prill

Being raised in a small Michigan town has taught me many things; being one with nature, eating whole foods and living in a sustainable way are just a few. My family and I currently reside in Marquette, where we can grow a garden downtown, bike anywhere in the city and enjoy endless nature just outside of the city limits. In the past several years I have been lucky to be a part of researching, writing and teaching about whole living. You can find my monthly nutrition column “Healthier Living” in the Great Lakes Pilot that I have been writing for the past two years. You can also find my published geological research in “Agates: Inside Out” by Karen Brzys. My passion is to live and, teach to live, in a sustainable way, both nutritionally and environmentally. I look forward to sharing my articles on sustainable living here at Marquette Magazine.

Website