For those of you who might think this is about my long lapse in blogging…well, it’s not. Or at least not primarily. What I really want to acknowledge is that today is a day I celebrate every year–the opening day of the regular season of my local farmers market, the Cary Downtown Farmers Market! (but probably a farmers market by you as well).

Now, a wonderful thing about our farmers market is that it never really goes away completely, except for MAJOR holidays and REALLY BAD weather. So except for a few Saturdays that the market was closed (farmers need to take the Saturday after Thanksgiving off, given how hard they work to bring their harvests to our Thanksgiving tables) or cancelled (we have hurricanes here) or I was sick (don’t want to spread my germs among the community), I’ve been able to get wonderful fresh local natural food at my market all winter.

But, honestly, it has been limited over the winter months. Still, I’m grateful for the farmers and vendors who get up in the dark and the cold and bring us their winter greens and meats and breads and hummus and mushrooms and jollof sauce and pastries and other healthy food, even if there isn’t a great deal of variety. I feel better eating the same healthy thing from local farmers than a variety of, well, let’s just say, less-healthy things from the grocery store (and full admission, I do eat those as well. More than I should. What can I say?).

However, most farmers markets around here at least start their regular season beginning in April, and it is cause for celebration! Not only do our die-hard farmers start to have more produce available, but we get new vendors bringing additional products.

What products? you might ask. Look at my basket from today’s market shown above. I know it’s hard to tell what all is in there, so here are at least some of today’s goodies…

• Red lettuce, cucumbers, green onions, parsley, rainbow chard, cherry tomatoes, and beautiful flowers from Parkers Farm
• Spinach and oregano (they go together so well) from LB’s Farm (now officially certified as Naturally Grown)
• Carrots and green garlic from Goodness Grove
• Microgreens from the Well Fed Community Garden
• Fresh baked whole wheat sourdough bread from Breadwaala
• A brand-new flavor of hummus from Carthage Fresh
• A unique flavor of kimchi from K-Culture Ferments
• A delicious (samples provided) fruit and veggie drink from Outcast Extracts

And there was even more great stuff! I’m doing a totally plants-based diet this month, but otherwise I would have bought from my favorite local/humane fish and meat vendors. And there were plenty of other vegetables available but I can only eat so much in one week, right? Because for sure, I’ll be back next week.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know I believe that local farmers markets provide the healthiest food, not only for us and our families, but for the planet. So if you haven’t checked out your local farmers market, I encourage you to do so. I can’t speak for all of them, but I can say that if you are in the Triangle NC area, the Cary Downtown Farmers Market is a great place to start.

If you are using SNAP/EBT funds, our CDFM market will double it up to $30. We also have an Eat A Rainbow program where children can earn a $5 credit for food at the market if they can find foods that match all the colors.

NOTE–I’m simply a devoted customer. I get NO kickback or anything for recommending my market and my products and my farmers and my vendors, nor do I want that.

I hope you find a local market that works for you as well as our market works for me. But if not, you are always welcome here.