Andrew Underwood

It’s Farmer’s Market Day

I often go to the farmer’s market on Saturday, since it’s just two blocks away. However, it’s not often that I buy anything. One thing is for sure, the idea that you can get cheaper produce at a farmer’s market than a supermarket has long since perished. Also, this farmer’s market is more like a mosh pit than a leisurely walk through the country. The aisles are packed full of the urban elite. These are the people who make enough money to live in a good neighborhood but instead choose to live in the low income housing that composes Strathcona county. They choose to spend their money at the small restaurant and quaint book stores that glow in the landmark landscape of Whyte Ave. Walking through the long clotted aisles feels like you’re in molasses desperately trying to flow, but being held back by the build up of people along the sides, tasting samples and buying their perogies.

With all this you must wonder why I even bother to venture those two blocks, on my sleep in day. I go for one reason, and one reason only, the samples the experience. Seeing all the hand made crafts, the weird people, the interesting foods make the experience. The fruits and vegetables there taste way better that what you find at the supermarket. Supermarket produce is grown to withstand thousands of kilometers of travel, and are often picked prior to being ripe. The farmer’s market produce usually has a way better taste, but also doesn’t last as long. That bucket of berries you bought better be eaten the same day, or the next day you might have a bucket of mold berries. However, as far as I can tell, there is no guarantee that what is sold there is organic or even any different from what the supermarket is selling. In conclusion, taste samples before you buy, and be ready for anything. ‘Cause last time I was there I was interviewed on camera for a documentary, but that’s another story.