Reasons to Market #4: In Your Wake

There were a lot of reason several years ago for which I transitioned from moving most of our produce through a CSA to focusing on the farmers markets. The most relevant was that the farm needed to simplify if it was just simply to survive. But as I was assessing everything and what different iterations of the farm might look like, packaging suddenly became a reason to go one way or another. Yes…packaging. It wasn’t in the forefront of my mind at the outset, but it quickly became another good reason to make a change.

 On your end of things, you probably don’t think about packaging too much when it comes to your veggies. When you are perusing the isles of produce in the grocery store, you have all the best in front of you, and you aren’t faced with the dumpster out back filled with waxed, non-recyclable, single use boxes that produce arrived in. After terrible labor practices, mistreatment of the soil, non-consideration for water use, and the destruction of a possibly sustainable economic model comes the other dirty little secret of agriculture: packaging.

 Now, running a CSA farm does use MANY fewer wax boxes than running a wholesale farm (and thus, supporting a CSA farm you will produce less waste than buying produce in a store), but providing produce to farmers market customers creates even less waste than that (side note, since switching to farmers market, we also have much less vegetable waste, as we don’t over plant out of paranoia).

 As the transition to focusing on the farmers market was taking place, I took the budget for multiple years of waxed boxes and started purchasing FDA approved totes. One set is used for harvest (field only) and the other set is used for taking washed produce to the markets (off farm only). Believe you me, there is a down side: I spend a sacred shift each week just washing totes in the peak of the season. But in the end, the reduction in waste is worth it. The oldest set has been in use for over 10 years now and not one tote (knock on wood) has been decommissioned. 

 For this little farm, that equates to thousands of boxes and even more thousands of dollars not wasted so far. Not too shabby.

 When I walk around the markets, I see that others have the same idea. Everyone is bringing their product in totes of all kinds. That’s less waste in the dumpster and less expense in the long term for those farms as well. And for you too if you are buying veggies at the markets. 

 So, check mark on another one on why to support farmers markets this summer! Unless you are gardening, there is no better way to leave less waste in your wake.