With the juice of a nectarine about to drip down his chin, James Mitchell carefully studied the fruits and vegetables for sale in a booth at the Minnetrista Farmers Market. In the past 18 months, Mitchell said he's made a conscious effort to study what he eats, and also pay attention to where he buys his food.
So, where is he shopping for what he considers the best and freshest fruits and vegetables? The farmers market.
"What do I value?" It's a question he's asked himself countless times, and every time comes up with the same answer. It's more important to shop locally, even if it costs him more.
Luckily for Mitchell, it's not costing him more. In fact, he's saving money at the farmers market. Plus there's the bonus of a farmer offering him a free nectarine -- or a slice of watermelon -- to try while he shops.
Over the past two weeks, The Star Press shopped three farmers markets -- in Muncie, New Castle and Winchester -- and priced their products with similar items on the shelves of a grocery store in each community. (In Muncie, it was Meijer, in New Castle, Kroger, and in Winchester, the Wal-Mart Supercenter.)
In a majority of instances -- about seven out of 10 -- the food at the farmers markets was cheaper.
That surprised Mitchell, who said he made a special effort one recent Saturday to buy a dozen eggs ($2.50) from a local farmer when making an omelet for brunch guests.
"Do I care more that it came locally or do I care more about price? Do I care more that those chickens aren't in chicken hell?"
For Kris Nauman, it's no secret that the farmers market is a steal. As a mother of two boys, AJ, 4, and Brock, 10 months, she said she must make every penny count at her Gaston home. She uses the farmers market to collect produce, and buys much of her frozen food at wholesalers like Costco.
"It's so much cheaper than I can find at the store," Nauman said as she shopped last week at the market in Muncie. "It's like $1 for one bell pepper (at the grocery store) and they're 50 cents here."
While some sellers admitted they set their price based on what the grocery store's price of the week, others said it's a matter of moving the excess food out of their gardens so it doesn't go to waste.
On Aug. 9, Rodney Schultz filled five, 5-gallon buckets with tomatoes before setting up shop at the farmers market in the New Castle-Henry County Public Library parking lot. He sold them not by weight, but piled tomatoes into quart-sized containers. Two hours after the first customer came to his booth, he was done to his final couple of dozen tomatoes.
In this, the prime gardening season, Schultz said his family simply can't eat produce fast enough. This year they're selling the excess -- everything from cabbage and peppers to several varieties of tomatoes -- at New Castle's new farmers market.
"I bring the price down in order to sell it," said Schultz, a retired Chrysler worker who farms south of the city.
Clyde Maxwell calls his garden "a hobby that's gotten out of control." At the same time, the Rush County farmer is grateful that New Castle opened its market this season, because the one he previously sold at in Rushville closed after some vendors struggled with health department guidelines.
Maxwell is one who watches the prices at the grocery store. When green beans are $1.99 at the store, he charges $1.50. He's one who sees a future in the farmers market. And if more shoppers keep looking for ways to cut out the middle men -- and the fuel it takes to ship food cross country -- he might even plant more in the future.
"If farmers markets keep growing, I think our garden will keep growing," he said. "The markets have gotten bigger every year."
Master gardener Pat Allen of Farmland is a new farmers market vendor. She's selling flowers, as well as her fresh and dried herbs on Saturday mornings in Winchester.
Madison County farmer Tom Lehman is a fixture of the market at Minnetrista. He sells there on both the Wednesday night and Saturday morning markets. His garden fills one and a half acres just over the Delaware-Madison county line, and he said his goal is to sell what his family can't eat.
"I just set a price I can make a little money on it. I'm not going to charge exuberant prices," Lehman said.
