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| A bouquet of garlic |
How I adore the market! I really have to start going regularly. Two mornings a week, people come from the nearby countryside with their produce, cheese, and eggs. While the Plaza de Abastos contains numerous shops (butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers, etc) open Monday through Saturday, the biweekly farmer's market takes place in the hall below the permanent market. The vast majority of sellers are women over 70 years old. But every rule has an exception; in this case, a guy my age.
I realize farmer's markets exist in the USA, but I never had the habit of going. Also when I think 'organic,' I associate it with a bigger price tag. Here that is definitely not the case. Although in general the insanely cheap prices in Galicia-- specifically in Lugo-- are normal to me, every once in a while I remember how inexpensive everything here really is. Case in point: at the market today I got seven garlic heads for 3€. Garlic is usually the most expensive food per kilo that you can buy at a produce store. I was thrilled to find some homegrown at the farmer's market. Next on the list: onions. As the lady was tossing them in, filling my bag, I thought to myself that was way too many onions for just me. But she wanted to get it to a full kilo (about two pounds) to charge me the euro. One euro for a month's --or two's-- supply of onions! Lastly for seven peppers (light green, smaller than our green peppers, these are from Ourense) because it was half a kilo (one pound) it was only 60 cents. SIXTY CENTS! Can you buy anything in the USA for 60 cents?!I honestly wonder if the money they make even pays for gas or the bus fare into town. How can it be worth it? They must break even, at least, or I doubt they'd go back week after week. The only people that I imagine go home with more money in hand are those who sell eggs. A dozen free-range eggs goes for about 3.50€. But as I've been learning from personal experience, gathering a dozen eggs is no easy task. The ¨extra money¨ for fresh eggs is well earned.
The farmer's market: what's not to love?!
- Supporting local families, who in turn spend their money around here. Economics, my dear Watson
- Hardly any emissions from the transportation, unlike when you just have to have bananas imported from the Canary islands, or quinoa imported from South America
- Very few pesticides, if any. Most likely some compost or similar natural products
- The price tag!
