严重的绿色: 6 Rules of a Good Farmers' Market

[[Flickr：Nataliemaynor这是给予的

曾经有一段时间，我将西红柿在英亩土地上种植，而不是在窗台上的小锅中。我现在在布鲁克林居住，没有后院，前院或屋顶要说。但是在大学里，我在夏天骑在皮卡车的后面。除草场；并在整个华盛顿州的农贸市场上出售西红柿和辣椒，蓝莓和黄南瓜。回到学校，朋友和我渴望没有起源于餐厅的食物所以我们成立了非常成功的双周农贸市场。我没有声称全职农民的智慧，但是，作为前农场工人和市场经理，作为一个活跃的市场和家庭厨师，我觉得我知道一两件事what makes a good farmers' market。

现在是开始谈论什么使一个好市场的好时机，因为农民市场从来没有更好的时机：粮食意识在全国各地都处于历史最高水平，奥巴马总统正在引起严重的嗡嗡声with his annoucement that he'd like to see a White House farmers' market。

市场成功并出于特定原因而失败。如果您是忠实的购物者，最好考虑到您当地市场的发展以及保持它的发展所需的方式。如果您正在努力建立一个更强大的社区食品系统，以支持当地食品并保留农田，则需要考虑什么将创造一个稳定，财务上可行的市场。无论您是想在附近建立农贸市场，还是想改善已经拥有的农贸市场，这里都是一些重要的问题。

农民的市场应该...

1.成为“仅生产者”

在仅生产者市场vendors are required to grow, raise, or make what they sell.农民市场是当地食品的地方，例如在125英里内生长。If you live in Virginia, that does not include bananas or avocados. Believe me, I had people regularly ask for them at our market. Producer-only farmers' markets不允许中间人，例如从大型购买俱乐部（例如Costco或其他农民）购买并将这些商品转售给消费者的“卡车农民”。

2.关于当地食物的严格规则，

那个莎莎卖家可能会制作美味的鳄梨调味酱，但不属于东海岸农贸市场。增值产品（烘焙食品，果酱，苹果酒，冰淇淋等）中的食物应受到调节和监控。

If at a farmers' market in New York a farmer is required to grow his own apples, then the baker at the stand next door should be not using apples from Washington State in his pies. Of course some things, like salt and flour, cannot be acquired locally.

Buying local when possiblekeeps things on an even playing field and leads to partnerships between vendors. If you have qualms about a certain product, don't hesitate to bring it up with whomever is running the market.

3.有无处不在的标牌

虽然价格和蔬菜品种是要显示的重要信息，但客户也感谢任何准备或存储提示。[[Flickr: kthread这是给予的

蔬菜品种和价格应明确标记。如果没有书面信息，请询问。让您的农民知道您有兴趣了解他们的产品。没有人比他们更了解产品。除非他们有20个人的深处，否则他们可能会喜欢与您聊天。

4.鼓励竞争和多样性

[[Flickr: Ron1478这是给予的

We don't just shop at farmers' markets because it's a nice way to spend a Saturday morning, we go because the food is better and deals can be had when food is in season. Encourage your local market to recruit new vendors. Competition is good for everyone.没有人会吸引大人群。各种供应商共同努力，这是一个成功的市场。Multiple vendors selling overlapping product means quality and value have to be kept up. Having as wide an array of products as possible--fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, plants, meat, game, dairy, poultry, eggs, fish, game, honey, jams and baked goods--means you can pick up most of dinner in one place.

5. Be Professionally and Independently Managed

Farmers don't just magically agree to be in one place at one time and then, voilà, a farmers' market is born. Professional management, such as for-profit, nonprofit, or government groups, ensures a market is run like a business. Of course, professional management comes with a fee (often a percentage of vendors' sales for the day), but it keeps things fair for both consumers and vendors. Management decisions are made independently of farmers, consumers, landlords, and local businesses but for the good of all.

Good market management recruits producers, sets standard rules, reads through vendor applications, conducts farm inspections, runs educational programs, lines up market music, and publicizes the market. They also help smooth over squabbles. I've seen farmers yell at each other over who is in whose tent-pole space, and it's not pretty.

6.冬季跑步

[[Flickr: dipfan这是给予的

Shoppers should have access to processed foods, such as heirloom tomato sauce, cider, peach jam, dried mushrooms, dried peaches, and pickled beets, in nontraditional market months. Ithelps everyone extend their local eating seasonand also trains shoppers to realize that good tomatoes just aren't available in February.

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