Gloria wrote:

> Other than in California, Hawaii, and Minneapolis (thanks, Barb!) I've
> never seen a farmer's market that can compare in overall quality with a
> good specialty greengrocer.

Here in California we have what are called "Certified Farmers' Markets."
These are markets at which all the goods are certified organic. It's not
easy to get that organic certification; the state has fairly stringent
guidelines for things defined as "organic." In order to be certified
organic, a state inspector has to come inspect your farm several times
during the year, and all your farming processes and practices are examined
in detail.

Sometimes the certified-organic vendors have a bit of a drive; the Auburn
farmers' market has vendors from as far away as Watsonville (208 miles) and
Fresno (202 miles). But the farmers make that drive because their produce
has a limited lifetime, and they can sell at least some of it in Auburn on
that day: If it doesn't all get sold in Auburn, there's another market the
following day. In fact, around here there's a certified farmers' market
every day of the week except for Fridays. Most of the farmers are located
within 50 miles, and all of the vendor booths have some banner which names
their farm and tells where it's located.

Bob