Did you know that a family of 6 should eat a minimum of 210 servings of fruits and vegetables every week? That's a lot of produce! With this in mind, I decided to try out the Dekalb Farmer's Market.
The Dekalb Farmer's Market came highly recommended to me by several sources. It was said to be definitely worth the drive (21 miles). Since I already had an appointment half-way in between, I thought that today would be the perfect time to pay a visit. The Dekalb Farmer's Market is located in Decatur, Georgia which is inside the Atlanta perimeter. To get there, you take the I-285 loop and exit on East Ponce de Leon Avenue, and travel south for 1.3 miles. Well, apparently, East Ponce de Leon Avenue is a fancy name for rickety-two-lane-road-that-passes-tattoo-parlors-and-graffiti-laden-abandoned-buildings-by-the-railroad-track. I thought about stopping to take a few pictures of the urban artwork, but, fortunately, my maternal instincts kicked in.
I LOVE Farmer's Market's with the buzz of local vendors and the fresh smell of home-grown produce and baked goods, but when I arrived, I discovered that this was not quite that kind of Farmer's Market. First of all, when I entered the permanent building, there were giant signs that read , "NO PICTURE TAKING INSIDE THE STORE!" How weird is that? As a blogger and picture-taking maniac, it was difficult for me to overcome this mental obstacle. Inside the market, the produce selection was immense, with a good selection of organic products, but I had to go up and down a few aisles to find items that I considered to be a "better than normal" price. And then a lady stopped me. "You can't bring those inside," she said, pointing at my environmentally friendly re-usable shopping bags. "If you want to use them, you need to check them with the cashier!" Since my cart was still empty, I returned them to my car and opted for the land-fill stuffing plastic variety. I suppose the "no bags" policy may have also explained the signs around that read, "No Eating Produce Before Purchase" and "Do Not Open Bags While In The Store."
The Dekalb Farmer's Market Verdict? Thumbs up for a good selection of organic produce at reasonable prices and awesome looking baked goods (of which I managed to resist). Thumbs down for weird rules and a 42 mile round trip drive. I'll see you at Whole Foods!
TODAY'S SPENDING:
Dekalb Farmer's Market: $28.74