Comments on: Brunch and more at Normandy Village’s farmers market

By: Daniel M. Perez (Slow Bike Miami)

Daniel M. Perez (Slow Bike Miami) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:13:03 +0000

Thanks for that follow-up, first of all.
I feel this info should be made public upfront to customers. I know not all care about the source of the produce, but then again, not everyone cares if it’s organic and we tell them.

I’d also have to see if we’re talking about the same vendor I saw when I went earlier in the year (during the FL growing season). For all I know, they’ve changed them. As I warned, my impressions were a few months old.

I know I have a chip on my shoulder about the term “farmer’s market” but that’s a whole ‘nother bag of chips.

By: editor

editor — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:30:59 +0000

I contacted the farmers market organizers to find out what’s the difference between their produce and that found at regular grocery stores.

This is what Claire wrote back:

“There are no vegetables being harvested at this time in South Florida. Avocadoes, longans, bananas and a few other fruits are available.
Therefore locally grown means North Florida, South Georgia, South Carolina. The vendor at Normandy Village is not a grower – he buys locally as often as possible. As long as mangoes were available in Dade County he purchased them for resale. Now that they are not available he imports. Same thing with oranges and grapefruits. His stand is approximately 30% organic, 70% conventional. Many growers today are growing by organic standards but are not necessarily certified organic. Local produce will begin to be harvested by November 1 if we are lucky and don’t have a storm.”

The main difference, she wrote in another e-mail, is that the produce here is fresher.

Hope this answers your question!

By: Daniel M. Perez (Slow Bike Miami)

Daniel M. Perez (Slow Bike Miami) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:30:59 +0000

As an aside, perhaps you’d consider adding the Subscribe to Comments WordPress plugin to make it easy to follow the conversation.

http://txfx.net/code/wordpress/subscribe-to-comments/

By: Daniel M. Perez (Slow Bike Miami)

Daniel M. Perez (Slow Bike Miami) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:28:44 +0000

I last visited the market about 4 months ago, just in case things have changed. I’m an Orthodox Jew in Normandy Isles, so I don’t get to hit the market often, let alone buy anything.

I have a huge problem with the term “farmer’s market” being used here. The times I have been to the market, there has not been anything “farmer’s” about the market. The crafts, prepared foods and flowers are all nice and they’re a complement I expect to find at such a market, but the produce, the part that should be from the farmers, wasn’t. Except for a couple of items (some avocados, starfruits and mangoes), the produce was bulk-bought from Costco or imported from outside the US. That was deplorable and disheartening.

The company that runs this market also runs the Lincoln Road market so they handle things the same way. The one market I have been to in the Beach area is in Bal Harbour, on Sundays, next to the Chabad synagogue on Collins Ave. At least there were some local farmers there and I was glad to give them my money.

I’ll need to check the Normandy market again just to see (again, it’s on Saturdays so I can’t buy anything) but I’ve been sorely disappointed with local “farmer’s” market. They shouldn’t be allow to call themselves that. Street market is more like it.