From savoring produce at the peak of freshness to meeting the people who grow your food, there are countless reasons to support farmers markets. Here are just a few!
10. Know Where Your Food Comes From. A regular trip to a farmers’ market is one of the best ways to connect with where your food comes from. Meeting and talking to your local farmers and food artisans is a great way to learn about the people who work hard to bring you the most delicious and nutritious food around.
9. Support Local Economy & Farmers. Local farmers need your support. Not only will your money be staying in our local community, but buying directly from farmers gives them a better return on their produce and a fighting chance to be successful, ultimately preserving farmland in our valley.
8. Variety. At the Bogert Farmers’ Market, you will find an amazing array of produce that you don’t see in your average supermarket. From red carrots, a rainbow of heirloom tomatoes, purple cauliflower, stinging nettles, green garlic, watermelon radishes, and much, much more, the variety will keep you coming back each week to see what’s new!
7. Taste Real Flavors. The fruits and vegetables you buy at the farmers’ market are at their peak in flavor and nutrition. Produce is allowed to ripen fully in the field, and brought directly to you. This food is as real as it gets–fresh from the farm, and more delicious than store-bought produce!
6. Nourish Yourself. Most food found at the farmers’ market is minimally processed, and many of our farmers go to great lengths to grow the most nutritious produce possible using sustainable techniques, picking produce right before the market, and growing heirloom varieties. These efforts result in a healthier version of the foods you love to eat.
5. Enjoy the Season. The food you buy at the farmers’ market is seasonal. It is fresh and delicious and reflects the foods truest flavors. Shopping and cooking from the farmers market helps you to reconnect with the seasons in our region. As you look forward to radishes in spring, savor sweet corn in summer, or bake pumpkins in autumn, you reconnect with the earth, the weather, and the seasons of the year.
4. Protect the Environment. Food at the farmers’ market is transported shorter distances and is generally grown using methods that minimize the impact on the earth.
3. Promote Humane Treatment of Animals. At the farmers’ market, you can find meats, cheeses, and eggs from animals that have been raised without hormones or antibiotics, have grazed on green grass and eaten natural diets, and who have been spared the cramped and unnatural living conditions of feedlots and cages that are typical of animal agriculture.
2. Cooking Tips and Meal Ideas. Farmers, ranchers, and artisans at the farmers’ market are often passionate cooks with plenty of free advice about how to cook the foods they are selling. It’s also a great way to get your kids involved. Let them pick out something new to try, then they can help prepare a meal or a snack using those ingredients purchased at the market.
1. Most Importantly…it’s fun! Bogert Farmers’ Market makes shopping a pleasure rather than a chore. The market is a community hub–a place to meet up with your friends, bring your children, and enjoy what our wonderful community has to offer.
Bogert Farmer’s Market this year starts Tuesday, June 7th and runs through September 27th. The Market hours are every Tuesday from 5pm-8pm. The market is located under the pavilion in Bogert Park on South Church Avenue in Bozeman. And don’t forget about Music at the Market! Drink Me Pretty will kick off festivities on June 7th, with the BHS Jazz Band performing in the Band Shell. Dan Dubuque will follow on June 14th, with Too Little, Too Late putting on a show in the Band Shell. Learn more about everything the Bogert Farmers’ Market has to offer at bogertfarmersmarket.org/. Life’s a Garden…dig it! •