Is produce from the farmers market always fresher and healthier?
According to a survey conducted by Farmers Markets Today magazine, In 2008, more than 85% of farmers market vendors traveled fewer than 50 miles to sell at a farmers market in 2008. In fact more than half of farmers traveled less than 10 miles to their market, according to a 2006 USDA survey. Compare that other scenarios where seven to fourteen days can go by between the time produce is picked and when it becomes available at a supermarket. In that interval, fruits and vegetables can travel, on average, more than 1,200 miles before reaching the final consumer. Since studies have shown that produce loses nutritional value as more time elapses from the time of harvest, locally grown produce available at farmers markets is available to you at the peak of freshness and nutrient availability.
