Off to Market we go!

I seriously love a good farmer's market. Truth be told, I even love a bad farmer's market.

There happen to be a lot of markets in this country, so that is good news for me. Most of the ones I have visited up to this point have been pretty good. I just love all the home made, home grown products. It's also important to me to support local businesses. Fortunately, living on an island means that a lot of what you buy is produced locally, but if you want to make sure you are not getting any imported goods, the farmer's market is the way to go.

This morning I took in the Tauranga Farmer's Market. There was a nice selection of goods and it was not raining, so all in all a good visit. The market is held at the Tauranga Primary School, which happens to be one of the schools that I pick up students at for my after school care program. Many of the schools here are set up very differently than at home. It's not just one big square building with limited windows, but rather a collection of buildings around a central courtyard/playground area (which is where the farmer's market sets up on Saturdays).

This morning's purchases - free range pork spare ribs, lettuce, mandarins and a Starbucks (the Starbucks did not come from the market and was likely not locally sourced, but sometimes I just like to hold the familiar cup, ok?)

I found a monthly newsletter in the area that lists all the markets close by, so next week I will be off to research another. I still have many to see! But I have to say, I haven't found a market yet to rival either the Strathcona or St. Albert Farmer's Markets. Edmonton and St. Albert, you should be proud of those markets! And if you've never been, go this weekend.

Oh, one other thing about markets - the samples. Any place that has free samples is worth the visit in my books!