2 days ago
'It's absolutely deceptive' Farmers markets see trend of new stands not locally grown
TYLER, Texas (KETK)– One farmers market manager is bringing awareness to the negative impacts nonlocal sellers are having on East Texas businesses and customers.
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Since the pandemic, farmers markets have seen an increase in customers, but market managers said the threat to their businesses are by produce being sold from other areas.
'It's absolutely deceptive. Anyone who goes to anything called a farmer's market, you naturally assume that the person behind the table is who made it, baked it or grew it,' Athens Farmers Market manager, DJ Warren said.
Most markets' mission is to offer a farm to fork service, but now their livelihood is negatively impacted.
'It takes money out of the farmers market pockets. They're already struggling. They already face a myriad of challenges every single day that we don't have to experience,' Warren said.
This is a challenge, farmer Crystal Branch faces especially when she first began selling micro-greens and chicken in 2019.
'We actually had the market director come up to us and be like, you charge way too much for your vegetables. We're like, if we charge less, we wouldn't make anything. The reason is because he was going and picking up large boxes of stuff that he didn't grow, and he resold it,' co- owner of Branch Growing Farm, Crystal Branch said.
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People selling produce from other areas can customers confusion when two of the same products look vastly different or typical out of season produce are sold.
'Right now, the amount of rain that we got all across East Texas is going to cause some of those tomatoes to split. They're fine, they taste great. Buy them support that farmer. They need your support in that moment more than any time,' Warren said.
Branch said they have enough competition with big box stores.
'Brookshires get' local tomatoes.' It's the same tomatoes is what these resellers would get, so you're paying farmers market prices for grocery store product,' Warren said.
To make sure the products purchased are locally grown, Warren and Branch advice people to ask the seller questions.
'You'll figure out right away that whether or not they're lying to you because they'll have a hard time answering questions. I think the vast majority are pretty honest,' Branch said.
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