YOUR FOOD DOLLAR WELL SPENT
Dollars spent at the Matthews Community Farmers Market on food from local farmers buys you more than groceries. In addition to sustenance, nutritious food and great flavor, it helps support local farms as part of the fabric of the community. Even more than that, it buys you peace of mind that you know where your food comes from and who is growing it.
Most of our regular customers are savvy consumers and do not come to the Matthews Community Farmers’ Market looking for bargains. They know that good food is not cheap.
Here’s what you get for your money at the Matthews Community Farmers’ Market:
Food That's Grown By Hand - Growing food on small farms is labor intensive, especially when the farmer uses natural or organic growing practices. Weeds are pulled by hand. Harvesting is done by hand. When people object to, say, the cost of green beans, our farmers explain just what kind of time and labor it takes to hand-pick each bean that goes into that pound bag. None of our farmers us mechanized harvesting equipment.
High Quality, Excellent Value - Food at the Matthews Community Farmers’ Market is sold at its freshest and at the peak of ripeness, when flavor and nutrition are highest. It is harvested within hours of your purchase. Supermarket produce, often is picked green to prevent damage during long-distance transit, and can take weeks to get to your plate. There is no comparison. The food you find at this farmers market is some of the freshest and best available. The flavor of the food speaks for itself, whether it’s the produce, free-range chicken eggs, or pasture-raised meats. Ever wondered why is there such a run on free-range chicken eggs at every market even though they are $4 or $5 a dozen? If you think that’s an outrageous price, then don’t ever taste one. Once you do you’ll never want to buy supermarket eggs again.
More Varieties Of Produce Grown For Their Taste - Not How Well They Ship -Many of the produce varieties that our farmers grow are selected for flavor, not ease of growing or yield. They are more expensive to grow, but worth it. That’s why you’ll find dozens of kinds of lettuce, myriad types of radishes, scores of different tomato varieties, multiple kinds of eggplant, peppers and and beans, to name a few – all picked for their taste. You’ll quickly find your favorites in every season and may discover foods you never knew existed.
Supporting Local Farms And Farm Families Our farmers’ market is important because it allows farmers to charge retail prices so they can make a decent income from what they grow. As it is, many of our farmers work another job so they will have enough income to support themselves and their families. Farmers charge what they believe is a fair price, factoring in what it cost in time and labor to plant, nurture and harvest foods, as well as flavor, quality, sustainability and nutrition. Money spent on good locally grown food benefits the farm, the local economy, the consumer and the environment. When you buy from a local farmer, you help make it possible for them to be good stewards of the land. Without enough support from consumers who recognize the outstanding value in what they produce, we run the risk of losing our region’s farmers and farmland, as well as our local food security. So, get to know the local farmers producing your food. You’ll know where your food is coming from, how and where it was grown and you’ll be supporting the continuation of family farms in the process.
