Get the Best of Your Farmers Market Experience

Farmers Market season is in full swing here in Louisville, KY. Our favorite part of this season is teaching people about the versatility of our EVOO’s. When you use high-quality olive oil you need very few ingredients to make a delicious, healthy dish.

If you’ve been by our stand at the farmer’s markets here you’ve probably tried our Roasted Rosemary Almonds. We try and always have some on hand to try. These almonds are absolutely exquisite and a great way to see how just 4 ingredients can make a dynamite snack.

We frequent three markets here in the greater Kentuckiana area during the summer. You’ll find us at The New Albany Farmers Market, St. Matthews Farmers Market and the Douglass Loop Farmers Market. After several years at these markets, we’ve made friends with some of the other vendors. We’ve also figured out the best way to attend a market.

You may think there’s no particular skill to shopping a farmers market but after you’ve spent one Saturday and $200 on the most beautiful produce, fresh meat and cheese and locally baked bread and curated items (like our delicious EVOO) and get home to realize that there is NO POSSIBLE WAY you and your family can eat ALL THIS FOOD. You too will enjoy these few tips for making the most of your Farmers Market Experience.

3 Tips for Making the Most of Your Farmers Market Experience

Have a List and Be Flexible

First, it’s important to both be structured and flexible for your market trip.

Know what’s in season before you go to the market. We like to use this Kentucky Harvest Calendar from Pick Your Own. This way you can be prepared for what you’ll find at your favorite stands.

However, you need to have some flexibility too. You never know when a farmer may be trying a new growing process or experimenting with a new crop. Be open to one or two surprise items ending up in your bags.

Bring Your Bags

And speaking of bags, that brings us to tip number 2. Part of the ethos of going to a farmers market is that you are supporting local farmers and reducing your carbon imprint. When you buy food grown locally you are helping to reduce your carbon imprint.

If you bring reusable produce and grocery bags with you, you can also help cut down on trash. We all are aware of the huge plastic problem that we are battling. Each of us can do our part by bringing our own bags to the farmers markets. And really, every time we shop.

We like these reusable produce bags we found on Amazon and tend to use our local grocery reusable bags for grocery bags (here’s looking at you Kroger, Whole Foods, and The Fresh Market) for larger items.

Know Thy Vendors

Our final tip for making the most of your farmers market experience is to know the vendors! Many of the vendors, just like Primo Oils, come back week after week. Getting to know your local farmers is the best part of the market. We have several vendors that we count as friends and know we can rely on for high-quality, organic products.

It’s a very European way to shop. You get the tomatoes from one vendor and bread from another. While a third vendor may have the best carrots around.

You only get to know this through experience but just ask us! We love to give recommendations to our favorite local farmers. We’d also love to hear tips from you about which farmers you prefer. We definitely find that this is one of the best parts of being a part of the farmers market community.

Primo Olive Oils Farmers Markets

We’ll include some of our favorite vendors and farmers below. We’ve also listed the times and addresses of the markets we’re at all summer long.

New Albany Farmers Market

Time: 8 AM – 12:30 PM

Address: 202 E Market Street New Albany, IN 47150

Favorite Vendor: Whisman’s Backyard Honey

Run by Mike and Paula Whisman. They offer honey, lip balms, and the delicious pollen whipped honey which is their 5-star specialty. Flavors include Bourbon Pecan, Apple Pie and Blackberry. All sourced from Clark County.

St. Matthews Farmers Market

Time: 8 AM – 12 PM

Address: 4100 Shelbyville Rd. Louisville, KY 40207

Favorite Vendor: Gelato Gilberto

Run by Kristin and Justin Gilbert. They have gorgeous, artisanal, Italian ice cream (gelato) made with local milk, fresh fruit, and ingredients imported from Italy.

Douglass Loop Farmers Market

Time: 10 AM – 2 PM

Address: 2005 Douglass Blvd. Louisville, KY 40205

Favorite Vendor: Lexington Pasta

Run by Lesme Romero. Pasta made fresh daily in small batches (and great with our EVOO).

 

We hope to see you at the Farmers Markets this summer. To your health!