Rooted: A Dallas Farmers Market Podcast

When was the last time you bought a tomato that was just... a tomato? Frequently every piece of food is labeled as "organic", "sustainable, "non-GMO", "ethical", or "natural". What do all these terms even mean? Do they matter? Should we even be paying attention to them? And, at the end of the day, is the produce direct from a farmer any different than the produce at the grocery store? Finding answers about your food can be hard. We hope to shed some light on these words, and help you start thinking differently about the foods you buy.

Though most of us think of farmers as being rugged, old, simple country men, modern farmers are so much more than that. The people who grow and raise our food are innovators, taste makers, and culture shapers. The food we eat is one of the most defining things about our culture, and it's easy to forget the role farmers play in creating our tastes. With recent shifts like the "green revolution", our way of farming is looking more and more different. Let us introduce you to some of our most creative, resilient, and dynamic farmers, who are shaping the way we eat everyday.

The roots of farmers markets run deep, and the Dallas Farmers Market is no exception. Meg and Savannah take it back to the beginning in this podcast to tell the story of how farmers markets have changed over the years to the lively local food hubs we enjoy today. As long as people have gathered and traded, there has always been a market place. Marketplaces may be a tale as old as time, but how similar are they to the modern farmers market?

One of our most common questions at the market is "Do you have bananas?" (or avocadoes, or coconuts, or...) Since so many people needed to ask, we thought we would get our answer on record! Yes, we have no bananas. (At least most of the time.) A farmers market has the bounty of the season, and unlike grocery stores, we are not in an eternal summer. Knowing what is in season can be a challenge, and no one likes making a grocery list, only to be unable to find the items you need. So why worry about seasonal eating? In this episode, Meg and Savannah discuss the logistics of eating seasonally, why it matters, and how you can get started.