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Warning: That 'quaint' farmer's market in Portland is just an overpriced Instagram trap now
I drove 45 minutes to the Saturday market on Hawthorne last weekend expecting fresh produce and local crafts. What I got was $12 jars of honey from some guy who clearly bought them wholesale, and a kid selling $8 lemonade from a powder mix. Everyone was there to take photos of their avocado toast, not to actually buy anything. I spent $40 on a tiny bag of apples that tasted exactly like the ones from Safeway for half the price. Am I the only one who remembers when these markets were actually about supporting farmers and not just influencers?
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aaron7402mo ago
$12 jars of honey" oh man that hit close to home. I bought one of those once thinking it was gonna be some artisan farm stuff, got home and the label literally said "product of Mexico" in tiny font. Ive started bringing my own coffee to these things just so I dont drop $7 on a cup that tastes like dishwater. The avocado toast photo ops are real though, i almost tripped over someones tripod trying to get to the one actual vegetable stand.
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smith.parker2mo ago
The one actual vegetable stand bit got me. Last summer I went to this market they hyped up as "the real farm to table experience" and it was basically a craft fair with some kale sprinkled in. There was a lady there selling honey sticks for $3 each and I bought one thinking alright fine. It tasted like corn syrup and regret. The worst part is she had a little sign with a photo of her "bee farm" that was pretty clearly just a stock photo of a field. I almost respected the hustle but also like cmon. Now I just hit up the guy selling tamales out of a cooler on the corner before I go. His prices are fair and he doesn't pretend to be saving the planet with his cooking.
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kim_ramirez32mo ago
I mean I kind of get the frustration but I actually dont mind the expensive stuff sometimes. That little farmers market by my house has a guy who sells honey for $14 a jar and it is genuinely from his own hives about 20 miles out. Idk, maybe its just me but I feel like you can tell the difference between a real operation and someone just reselling bulk stuff if you ask a couple questions. The coffee thing though yeah that is almost always overpriced and bad. But I have found that the smaller stands with just one or two products are usually the real deal compared to the ones with a whole table of stuff.
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