Madison City Farmers Market yields multiple benefits for shoppers
Shoppers can expect fresh strawberries at Madison City Farmers Market on May 18. (CONTRIBUTED)
MADISON – Buying and eating local produce from the Madison City Farmers Market has numerous benefits, in addition to the good tastes.
“Locally grown produce is fresher,” Mary Stallings said. Stallings serves as board of directors chairperson for the market. Produce from a supermarket or big-box store has been transported or stored for days, possibly weeks.
“Produce that you purchase at your local farmer’s market has often been picked within 24 hours of your purchase,” Stallings said. “This freshness not only affects the taste of your food, but the nutritional value, which declines with time.”
Madison City Farmers Market is open on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon at 1282 Hughes Road.
Outside their typical menus, shoppers can experience new tastes with different fruits and vegetables. “Interest in trying new foods means you eat more fruits and veggies,” Stallings said.
When a person eats ‘local,’ he or she will consume fewer processed foods and thus less salt and fewer preservatives and refined carbohydrates. “Local food has more vitamins and minerals to boost the immune system and help prevent and fight cancer,” she said.
Pasture-raised eggs, like those at the Madison market, are healthier than factory-farmed eggs. These eggs have as much as 13 times more Omega-3 fatty acids, 50 percent more folic acid, 70 percent more B12, higher levels of vitamin E, 40 percent more vitamin A, along with less bad cholesterol, Stallings said.
“Eating local means more for the local economy. According to a study by the New Economics Foundation in London, a dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy,” Stallings said.
Supporting local providers supports responsible land development. “When you buy local, you give those with local open space — farms and pastures — an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped,” she said.
For more information, email to info@madisoncityfarmersmarket.com or visit madisoncityfarmersmarket.com, Facebook/madisoncityfarmersmarket and Twitter/madisonalmarket.
