That’s why a project like ‘Veggie Mobile’ is so useful.

A pair of farmers in Burlington, Vermont, grow organic vegetables and sell them (for wholesale or less) out of an old postal truck.

The idea is modeled after those wonderful vehicles that sell ice cream during the Summer.

“Our goal is to provide easy access to veggies. A lot of the corner stores here in the Old North End don’t have vegetables or a variety of them. We are committed to serving this area through the farmers market and now this veggie mobile.”

Mobile produce sales aren’t new to Burlington or any city. Decades ago, farmers would deliver fresh goods on a daily basis from a traveling cart. Sadly, the carts disappeared as food production gradually industrialized and automobiles became a way of life.

Of course, some fuel is required to get the veggie mobile from place to place. But it’s not much more than it takes to get food to farmers markets anyway.

Hidden from the view of Americans is where a lot of grocery store and restaurant food gets its start. That de-boned chicken breast was at one point part of a chicken; it was not born in the cooler of your neighborhood Walmart. Similarly, your ground beef patty was (hopefully) part of a real cow in the not too distant past.

An opaque veil obscures the origin of food in an industry effort to commoditize it. Huge, cost-efficient factory farms want consumers to believe that there’s no difference between a chicken confined to a 60 cubic inch pen for the duration of its short life and a chicken raised on a pasture, free to peck away at grubs and revitalize the soil.

Yeah, there’s a big difference, and if you don’t know where to look it can be REALLY hard to find an alternative. Heck, I spent six weeks going vegetarian while sorting through my options.

There are two easy places to start:

1. A local food co-operative (the kind that sells mostly organic products and has a few employees who could easily be described as “new age-y”).
2. Farmers markets (just open the coolers scattered around).

But be ready to pay a little more! Prices at co-ops and farmers markets tend to run about 50-200% higher than grocery store meat.

For me, it’s a huge comfort to meet the farmer who raised my hamburger patty and know the kind of environment the originating cow grew up  in. Also, it tastes WAY better.

These markets, which are typically open 1-2 times per week throughout the Summer and early Fall (in colder parts of the country), feature a number of area farmers bringing their ripe, freshly-plucked produce to one location. You can also find local businesses and restaurants there selling products. If you’re lucky, you can also find pasture-fed meat (beef, pork, chicken) … this is usually more expensive than the grocery store but very cool.

Advantages

1. You’re getting fresh, in-season fruits & vegetables.
2. You’re directly supporting local farms & businesses.
3. You get to see eye-to-eye with the people who produce your food.

Disadvantages

1. You’re left at the mercy of what’s in-season and readily available.
2. You will only get regional produce (nothing exotic).

I don’t usually go to the farmers market with a set plan on what I’m going to buy. Maybe that’s a bad thing from a budgeting aspect, but it gives me the freedom to say, “Damn, those potatoes look great, I need to pick up a box of them!”

At larger farmers markets, you may also stumble across re-sellers. These are people who purchase produce (say from the store) and then sell it for a slight profit margin. I’m not a particular fan of these enterprises, and you shouldn’t be either.

Tips on making the most of your trip

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions. So rarely can we find transparency in the food industry than what’s at the farmer’s market. Ask about how the food is grown. Does the farmer use chemical fertilizer? Pesticides? Herbicides? Were these plants grown in a polyculture (many different plant species) field or as part of a large monoculture? Are they GMO (genetically modified organism) plants?
• Learn how to identify good produce. Some fruits & vegetables you find will be riper than others. Sometimes you want to grab something that isn’t quite ripe yet. If you don’t know the signs & signals that produce give about their condition then you need to learn how. The best way is to bring someone along who can show you.
• Know how to cook your spoils. If you buy something you’re not particularly familiar with, try to find a recipe that utilizes it. Or buy a book on the subject.
• Go early or late. If you arrive early you can pick out some of the finer specimens. If you show up near closing, you may be able to get discount prices on the remaining produce.

So, you’re ready to go?

Now it’s time to find a local farmers market. The easiest place to start is at localharvest.org. In addition to farmers markets, localharvest.org has a wealth of information about other agriculture topics (like CSAs); it can be a bit overwhelming. If you just want to find a market near you, adjust your search query to “farmers markets” and search for those near your zip code or city. Make sure you learn the days & hours of operation.