It’s no secret to those who read my blog regularly that the Cary Downtown Farmers Market is one of my most happy places. I’ve loved it for years and years, but I really depended on it for keeping me sane during the COVID isolation, since it provided both safe community AND healthy local food.

But if you’re not already a Farmers Market person, if it’s July/August in North Carolina, you should become one. Because if there is one word I would use to describe the local Farmers Markets, it would be ABBONDANZA!*** (see below)

Which is to say, there is A LOT of wonderful, beautiful, delicious local food at our Farmers Markets right now. As shown above, right now you can get just-picked local green beans, eggplant, garlic, summer squash, heirloom tomatoes, hot peppers, shishito peppers (and BEAUTIFUL sweet/bell peppers), and basil and other herbs. Aren’t those all gorgeous?

But there is also so much more. Look at my Farmers Market shopping in just one Saturday in the beginning of July:

And now in later July:

And our market is a relatively small market! But right now, you can find tons of produce, flowers, meat, fish, fruits, baked goods, sauces, cheese, and so much more. It’s all local and almost all organic-ish (most small farmers can’t afford to jump through all the hoops the federal government requires to be certified as organic, but at least at our Farmers Market, they follow organic practices not just for us, but because it is also their home and the food they eat themselves and feed their children).

I know I’m a fanatic, because I’m usually there at opeing time at 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning (but not as fanatical as a good number who get into the lines half an hour or more BEFORE opening time). And I totally understand that many people want to sleep in on Saturdays after a busy work week.

But here’s the GOOD NEWS!

I’m there at opening time for maybe half? of the year…like November through April?…because farmers have limited supplies, especially of the newest stuff, and I want to be there early enough to get some before they are sold out. And I just keep the habit up all year long.

But if you are a sleep-in-Saturday person, the good news is, again, ABBONDANZA***. The farmers have LOTS and LOTS of stuff right now. So even if you sleep in and don’t get there until 10 or 11 or almost noon (which is when our market closes), there is still stuff to buy. The farmers have a lot now, and they need to sell it during this season to help them get through the seasons when they don’t have as much to sell. I’m proud to say our Farmers Market got a grant to buy leftover food at the end of the market to bring to our our local food bank at Dorcas Ministry, which supports both the farmers and families who need food support (we also accept SNAP coupons at our market, and I believe double the food benefits). Still, the farmers don’t want to bring anything back, so even late comers can help make sure that farmers can sell everything and start with a blank slate for the next Saturday’s market.

I can only speak with expertise about the North Carolina markets, but whenever I travel, if possible, I visit the local Farmers Markets and have a similiar experience. So for all of you who support your own local Farmers Market, thank you. For those of you who support the Cary Downtown Farmers Market or the Western Wake Farmers Market or the Apex Farmers Market or the Raleigh Farmers Market(s) or the Durhams Farmers Market(s), or the Pittsboro Farmers Market or all the other FABULOUS Farmers Markets in our area, THANK YOU (especially the farmers who make it possible). You are not only providing your family with the best, freshest, healthiest food, but are supporting the planet with the most sustainable food growing practices.

And if you aren’t a Farmers Market person yet….well, just look at the pictures above (and I’m not a great photogragher so I don’t do the products justice), and come check us out some Saturday morning.

I’m pretty sure you will be glad you did.

***ABBONDANZA

As I was thinking about this post, I remembered a TV commercial where this woman would say ABBONDANZA. I asked a couple of people about it, and they didn’t know it. So I looked on Google, and discovered…OH MY GOSH!…they were commercials for Celeste Frozen Pizza from back when I was IN COLLEGE! Which was….decades ago. Funny how those things can stick in your mind, right?

So, OK, I’m not a spring chicken. But don’t let that keep you from visiting your local Farmers Market. Most of the farmers are WAY younger than I am, LOL. Although many are farming on land that has been in the family for generations before me. Good food, good farming, good cooking is something that transcends generations (which I’m not necessarily suggesting Celeste Pizza is…if it’s even around anymore? I never buy frozen pizza, so I don’t know).