Something New
Here we are, 2025. A new year, new market hours, and maybe some new vendors, too, dipping their toes in the water of Central Farm Markets. Vendors will see new faces as seasonal markets have closed and their shoppers shift to those open year-round. There are also new faces filtering in to the neighborhood as the new condominiums and apartment buildings begin to fill. Talk about a selling point when there’s one of the biggest and best farmers markets in the mid-Atlantic within walking distance.
No turning of the calendar would be complete without talk of resolutions and goals for the coming year. Every year we roll out the same I want to… tacking our list to the refrigerator or bathroom mirror to daily remind ourselves of annual goals. According to a Statista USA survey, the top five goals for this year are:
1. Save more money
2. Eat healthier
3. Exercise more
4. Lose weight
5. Spend more time with family & friends
Sound familiar? We make the same ones every single years and also discovered by the surveys is that it takes about four months for that list to go in the trash. Quite honestly I’m flummoxed by this as I would thing the first four months would be the most difficult to engage in building better habits to achieve these goals, but my mind is that of a farmer so hear me out on this one (or five).
First, the farmers market is here to help you reach all five goals. Tape that list to the pile of re-usable bags, market basket, or cart because it’s not going to do much good taped to the computer monitor.
The price of food, especially eggs, has become a political litmus test even though the price of your groceries has little to do with who is sitting behind the Resolute, but have you seriously looked at the prices at the grocery store lately compared to the farmers market? Those eggs packaged as all the things and more of what you’ll find from the weekly vendors are easily three-to five bucks more these days and with bird flu still decimating industrial flocks throughout the country, those prices will continue to rise or worse, availability will be limited.
The same holds true for many of the other products found at market, including produce, meats, baked goods, and prepared foods. Recently I took my mom grocery shopping at a locally owned small chain of stores and was shocked to find many of the prices, especially on abundant regional produce the same if not more than the market. And sad, all of the fresh produce looked very sad, as if it had been truck thousands of miles over the course of many days which leads me to the second item on the list.
A variety of FRESH fruits and vegetables are part of a healthy diet. Fresh produce starts losing nutrient density the moment it is picked. Some hold up better than others, but the fresher, the better. We’ve got some of the best winter vegetable growers in the country delivering fresh produce to the market weekly. Take advantage of this.
I realize we’re all creatures of habit, including myself. We purchase the same foods week after week, often preparing them similarly each time. My challenge this year is to try something new from a different vendor each week, especially the ones with whom I don’t normally shop. Look in my fridge and you can tell who my favorite fellow vendors are. Sure, I tweak my recipes here and there, but it’s still the same food.
Building on top of eating better is more exercise. Those gym memberships tend to slide along with the rest of the list after month four, but building in small bursts of exercise in life can be something as simple as parking a block away instead of cruising the lot looking for the closest space. Try using one of the public parking garages in the neighborhood to get in your steps. They’re free on Sunday and if you’re worried about carrying all your healthier food back to the car simply leave your market goods with staff at the curbside information tent. You’ll be able to drive right up and they’ll even help you load your car.
What gives me hope for a more sustainable planet are the folks who ride their bikes to market in winter. They don’t let cold or precipitation stop their peddling. Last winter on one of the nastiest days when there was horizontal freezing sleet a beast of a bicyclist showed up with black garbage bag over his fancy rain gear on both his person and the saddle bags into which he loaded his groceries. Turns out he bikes several miles to the market to get in his exercise because he’s a desk slug (his words) during the week.
If you want to know how to lose weight with the help of the farmers market, don’t ask me. I haven’t figured out that one yet. After seeing a picture of my grandmother at the same age I was back in my mid-forties I gave up my delusions of grandeur. At this stage of life, my weight only seems to redistribute itself no matter how much I exercise or how well I eat. So if you want to lose weight, it might be best to check in with one of the market’s sponsors who specialize in those particular goals.
As a farmer, especially one who lives alone in a rural location, this last resolution is always a big one for me. Fortunately, I have the farmers market every week. It’s the perfect spot for a weekly outing with the family. I’m amazed at how many families make the market their special time together each week and have done so for years. Market time with kids isn’t only for the ones in strollers. I love seeing adult children with their parents. No matter how old you are, you’re always a little kid to your parents. Looking for a great first date idea? Go to the farmers market. Heck, looking for a good spot to find a date? Try the farmers market. The plus side on this is you’ll know they share your taste for good food. Here’s a suggestion. For those of you who routinely run into your neighbors at the market, plan to purposely attend together. Share a ride. Create better connections.
These simple investments will deliver good returns when we circle back to this spot next year.