Eating Local

Shop local, fresh, and seasonal while supporting your community

Freshness
Produce at our market was often picked within 24 hours of sale. Ask the vendors when it was picked – farmers keep some amazing hours.

Taste and Nutrition
When allowed to ripen on the vine, produce develops the full flavor nature intended. Produce starts losing nutritional value soon after harvest, so fresh, farmers market foods still retain nutrients.

Community
Conversation abounds at the market – building relationships with vendors and neighbors, petting dogs, and watching children grow from season to season.

Local Economy
Supporting local farmers and artisan food producers keeps our Texas dollars local. Farmers Markets also are small farm and business incubators.

Seasonality
See our Seasonality Chart of seasonal produce in North Central Texas.  Weather patterns certainly do effect this chart  The progression of seasonal produce becomes familiar after a year or two of market shopping.

New Tastes
Shoppers are more likely to try new foods when the farmers enthusiastically share uses or cooking methods.  Basic cooking for many vegetables grown locally can be found here.

Variety
Farmers can grow many varieties of plants, including heirloom, because they are not limited to those that ship and store well. They’re often open to suggestions and requests as well.

Environment
A lower carbon footprint naturally results because the produce was not shipped across the nation or across an ocean. Avoiding mono-culture, local farmers plant a variety of crops, thus providing habitat for wildlife and preserving plant diversification for posterity.  The Coppell Farmers Market promotes environmental education classes through the Coppell Community Garden to develop a respect for the Earth.

Farmers

Small farms thrive with a dependable retail outlet for their products, so families can profitably stay on the farm.

“Shop at the farmers’ market. You’ll begin to eat foods in season, when they are at the peak of their nutritional value and flavor, and you’ll cook, because you won’t find anything processed or microwavable. You’ll also be supporting farmers in your community, helping defend the countryside from sprawl, saving oil by eating food produced nearby and teaching your children that a carrot is a root, not a machine-lathed orange bullet that comes in a plastic bag. A lot more is going on at the farmers’ market than the exchange of money for food.”
~Excerpt from Six Rules for Eating Wisely, by Michael Pollan, Time Magazine

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