Recreational shopping at the mall is one thing, but basic grocery shopping is a fact of life. There are many choices when it comes to buying food. The largest and most convenient place to shop for food is the supermarket. At these huge stores, you can find plenty of choices for whatever item you need. Need peanut butter? You can find creamy or crunchy, reduced fat or reduced salt, natural style or processed, small jar or large, with jam or without. Each aisle offers great practice for developing your decision-making skills! And to help you decide, the store will often have a sampling station where you can taste (for free!) many of the special products they sell. This is usually done on a weekend when lots of people are in the store. “If you try it, maybe you’ll buy it!” It’s a great way to introduce you to new products, but remember they are just samples! The store expects customers to try only one. (Okay, maybe two . . . ) But if you do it right, you can visit every sampling station in the store, and you won’t need lunch when you get home!

Despite all the choices at a big supermarket, however, farmers’ markets are also very popular. As people become more and more conscious of where their food is coming from and how it’s grown, farmers’ markets offer an opportunity to buy directly from the farmers who are on the spot to answer any questions. Often the markets are set up in public squares in large and small cities, usually on weekends. At the market, local area farmers bring in their produce and arrange it on tables for sale. Home bakers will offer fresh-baked cakes and pies made with homegrown fruit. There are people selling homemade jams, too. Lots of vendors will offer samples of their goods. They may have small squares of bread and small pieces of cheese for you to try. There may be plates of cookies or samples of jams. The vendors hope that you’ll enjoy the sample so much that you’ll buy some to take home. And why not? Although baked goods and produce from the farmers’ market may cost more, they’re delicious and fresh from the farm!

LIA: Do you have any peaches today?

FARMER: Oh, boy! I have lots of peaches! The weather has been great for peaches this year. They got plenty of sun and a lot of rain when they needed it.

LIA: Ha! I guess that’s why there are so many peach pies for sale. They look delicious!

FARMER: Several people have mentioned that. My wife will appreciate the compliment. She baked them.

LIA: I’ll definitely take a couple of pies. I’m going to a neighbor’s barbecue this afternoon, and I want to bring something special for dessert.

FARMER: Well, I have some nice organic herbs, too. And the corn on the cob is really sweet this year. We can husk it here for you, if you like.

LIA: I’m so glad your vegetables are organic. I’ve been trying to be careful about the foods I feed my family. I’ve decided that I’ll buy only organically grown produce whenever I can.

FARMER: I’ve been farming organically for 10 years now. No pesticides. No artificial fertilizers. Just pure nature!

LIA: Great! I’ll take two peach pies, a dozen ears of corn, and some basil for pesto. I’m making myself hungry already!

Fun Farm Fact!