Farmers market selling organic vegetable baskets
SAN JUAN -- A new twist to the old farmers market concept could soon have consumers enjoying weekly baskets of fresh, organically grown vegetables in South Texas, said a Texas AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist.
“With all the salmonella scares we’ve had recently in spinach, peanut butter and other foods, wouldn’t it be wonderful to actually know your vegetable farmer and buy from him or her directly and know exactly what you’re getting?” asked AgriLife Extension’s Barbara Storz.
The concept is called community-supported agriculture whereby customers pay a subscription fee to have a grower produce for them the vegetables they want using safe farming practices and organic chemicals, she said.
“Community-supported agriculture is a very successful and common practice in other parts of the country,” Storz said. “With an almost year-round growing season here, the Rio Grande Valley is an excellent place to do this.”
Growers benefit by knowing exactly what to plant and harvest, while consumers enjoy organically grown, freshly picked vegetables at their peak of vitamin and nutritional content," she said.
“When we buy vegetables at the grocery store, do we really know what country they came from and which chemicals were used to produce them?” Storz asked. “Here consumers know exactly what they’re buying for their families.”
In this case, the growers would be participants of Grow’n Growers, an AgriLife Extension program organized by Storz that teaches low-income residents how to grow organic vegetables on their own properties, then sell them at the area’s only organic farmers market in San Juan.
Fifteen families joined the program last year and organized a farmers’ cooperative known as Familias Productores del Valle, or Family Producers of the Valley.
Their next farmers market will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m on Feb. 21 at North San Juan Park. Others will be held March 21, April 18 and May 16.
North San Juan Park is located at 511 E. Earling (the Nolana extension), between Raul Longoria and Cesar Chavez roads, some two miles east of U.S. Highway 281. Admission is free.
Idelma Gomez, a member of the farmers’ cooperative, said while buying vegetables at the farmers market, shoppers can inquire about buying the weekly organic vegetable baskets.
“Once we know what the consumer wants, which could include vegetables not commonly sold in supermarkets, we’ll provide those baskets on a weekly basis at a price of $10 to $20 per week. That’s a bargain,” she said.
For more information, contact Storz at the AgriLife Extension office in Edinburg at 956-383-1026.
