If you’ve visited your local grocery store lately, you may have been dissatisfied with the selection made available to you. Perhaps they have organic vegetables, but the selection is severely limited, and the offerings for organic meat and fresh caught seafood are non existent. Maybe your store doesn’t carry any organic vegetables at all. If either of these are the case, you may what to ask yourself, “What is a farmers markets role here?”

As it happens, a certified farmers market, and your local Rochester Public Market in particular, may be able to provide you with a wide variety of cheap organic food. The produce sold at the Rochester market can be significantly less expensive than in most grocery stores. For example, while one pound of grapes may cost $1.99 in the store, a large basket full of grapes can cost as little as $4. Though definitely not on the organic food list, you can also find bread for as little as $1 per loaf.

Beyond the prices, you can shop at the market confident that you are supporting local farmers who make their living producing fresh fruits and vegetables. This is markedly different from the supermarket, which often ships produce from out of state and out of the country.

In order to make sure you buy organic food at the Rochester farmers market, you’ll want to ask the individual sellers whether their produce is grown with pesticides and other chemicals or if it is completely natural. If you have additional questions along the lines of “What is a farmers market?” or you have tips about how to find organic food at the market, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments section below.