Healthy food on a tight budget

[GLC1968]

Egg prices from farms are going to vary greatly by the time of year. In the spring, they are super cheap because the hens are laying like crazy and everyone is overflowing with eggs. Around here, it's kind of like zucchini in the late summer or pears and sugar plums in the fall. It's not unusual for people to drive around offering eggs/zucchini/pears/plums to their neighbors for free!

By late summer, farm eggs are less plentiful and prices will more closely match what you'd see in the grocery store/farmers markets. In the winter, non-factory farm eggs are expensive.

Also, farmers markets are usually cheaper than stores, but more expensive than on-farm stores because they figure in transportation costs and what the demand will be. The cheapest option would be farms who just put up signs on the roadside as they have no overhead and are usually just trying to lighten their egg load at home (ask me how I know this! In the spring - $3 per 18 ct at my house! )

[Blueberry]

Also, farmers markets are usually cheaper than stores, but more expensive than on-farm stores because they figure in transportation costs and what the demand will be. The cheapest option would be farms who just put up signs on the roadside as they have no overhead and are usually just trying to lighten their egg load at home (ask me how I know this! In the spring - $3 per 18 ct at my house! )

I get a bit frustrated with our farmer's market - it's damned expensive. I want the farmers to make a living - but I really can't afford most of the prices. They are more expensive than Whole Foods, generally speaking. Eggs, even in spring, are $4-5 per dozen at the market. There's a local egg farm that provides eggs to Whole Foods for sale in the $3 per dozen range (and the research I've done indicates their chickens are treated well). Even in the height of summer when folks are flooded with tomatoes, they rarely go below $3 per pound. It's hard to justify on a tight budget.

[GLC1968]

I get a bit frustrated with our farmer's market - it's damned expensive. I want the farmers to make a living - but I really can't afford most of the prices. They are more expensive than Whole Foods, generally speaking. Eggs, even in spring, are $4-5 per dozen at the market. There's a local egg farm that provides eggs to Whole Foods for sale in the $3 per dozen range (and the research I've done indicates their chickens are treated well). Even in the height of summer when folks are flooded with tomatoes, they rarely go below $3 per pound. It's hard to justify on a tight budget.

Yeah, I found the same thing actually, but I was figuring that it wasn't always the case. Certainly in NC - the GSO farmers market was not cheap. And a lot of it was not local either so you really have to pay attention! Earth Fare or Fresh Market prices were often better.

Around here, it's hit or miss. Actually, now that I think about it, the bigger farmers markets closer to the city tend to charge more. My guess is that it's demand. People are probably willing to pay more to not have to drive out to the country for their country fresh foods!

[nscrbug]

There is a guy at my local farmer's market who sells brown eggs for $4/doz. I tried them a few times, even though I had a hard time justifying the cost. They were okay...nothing spectacular. He doesn't advertise if his eggs are organic, or cage-free, or whatever...so I have no idea if they are or not. Next time I see him there, I will be sure to ask. Yesterday, I picked up a dozen large organic, cage-free brown eggs from Target for $3.89, which is about the cheapest I've seen around here for organic, cage-free eggs.

And I agree with some of the others who say that their farmer's markets are expensive. That is certainly true in my area. Blueberries are routinely sold for $5/pint, which I think is a lot. One of the more reasonable items I've found, is broccoli for $1/head. But most everything else is way more than prices in the supermarket, and most of the produce sold at the farmer's markets in my area are NOT organic. Infact, I can't recall ever seeing any organic produce at the markets here. So, even though the stuff is grown locally, and I'm all for supporting local farmers...it's still not pesticide-free.