To those in major crop producing areas of the country, is it easy to find fresh produce?

Question

I am particularly interested in areas such as Florida and California. I work in a local produce store in Massachusetts, and often get visitors that come in and are amazed at vine ripened tomatoes and juicy peaches. Does most of the locally grown crop get shipped out, or are these people just not looking hard enough for fresh fruits and vegetables?

I'm not talking about this time of year, this has just been a question I have had for a while. Maybe people just don't bother to look for the good stuff.

Answer 1

I think people don't look for the good stuff.

I live in the suburbs in the SF Bay Area & there are a lot of chain super markets. The chain stores do not carry great produce.

That's why I prefer to shop at smaller, local markets or farmers' markets for produce.

I think people are surprised because we don't have a lot of local produce stores any more. There are quite a few in SF and the City has enough foot traffic to support them. There aren't that many in other parts of the Bay Area, so that's why I think people are surprised when they visit your shop.

Answer 2

I think people are surprised to find locally produced vine ripened tomatoes and peaches in Massachusetts this time of year. Don't you guys get a lot of snow?

In CA and FL, they have a lot of sunshine so the growing season is much longer and sooner. Those states end up shipping quite a bit to the rest of the US, but the local supermarkets and farmer's market have the locally grown stuff.

Answer 3

Florida and California are temperate climates so they have growing seasons all year round. I work in the produce dept. of a grocery store in Michigan and we get a lot of produce from both of those states. We also get produce imported from other countries such as Chile, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada and South America. This makes for a wider variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Of course, nothing beats home grown!

Answer 4

I live in Illinois and it is really hard to find really good produce here. I think in Chicago they have farmer's markets in the summer but that is about it. I get my fresh stuff in the summer from my inlaws who have a huge garden and do their own canning and freezing and they very seldom go to the store to buy food.
There are some really great farmers around here who plant sweet corn and then let all their friends come and pick it. That is the freshest and I've never tasted anything from the store that can even compare.

Answer 5

not really it like the same every where unless you go to ventura county