[eltondegeneres]

> If you walk into a booth and that vendor is selling over 5 types of produce, there's no way they all ripened at the same time. They may not even all be grown by them. Once, he actually saw a vendor at Boston farmers’ market selling carrots from Target! He could tell from the packaging because he used to work for them.

I don't think this is true. In California and New York City, vendors at farmers markets can only sell what they grew themselves, unless they get an exemption for a specific product and prominently label the product as grown by a third party, specifying the third party (usually things like cranberries grown by one vendor in the fall). Very occasionally you'll see foods like apples in plastic bags with supermarket labeling, but that's because the farmer packages and sells the produce directly to the supermarket.

[tcfunk]

My wife ran a farmer's market for years, it can definitely be true.

Vendors tried to sneak stuff in constantly, and unless you have a market manager who really cares and is constantly vigilant, vendors will resell stuff they have bought in bulk and are reselling at a markup.

Not all vendors of course, but like anything else there's always a handful of bad actors.

[TaylorAlexander]

Yeah I have seen a farm do this! They bought from other local farms at least, not Target. But the claim "vendors at farmers markets can only sell what they grew themselves" is only true to the extent that there is enforcement and sufficient oversight to find violators.

[afpx]

Is this regulated by the state? In VA, I often see farmers market vendors selling produce that they purchased from the distributors or wholesalers.

[meiraleal]

> I don't think this is true. In California and New York City, vendors at farmers markets can only sell what they grew themselves

Oh, the US. Do you really think Americans aren't (capable of being) corrupt? As in if it is not allowed, no one does it?