PHOENIX — With the cost of food going up, we're all looking for ways to cut down the grocery bill.
Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market Executive Director Tanya Chakravarty said shopping at your local farmers market can save your hard-earned money.
"You are going to get the absolute freshest produce that you possibly can get which means it lasts longer in your fridge," Chakravarty said. "It was picked that morning or the night before and then rushed over to the farmers market."
Also, the person selling it isn't a faceless corporation or chain store. They live and work in your community and care about you.
"If any one of the farmers that are at our farmers markets are approached by somebody that maybe needs a little bit of a break, they're often willing to negotiate and to work with people," Chakravarty said.
Sonia Singh with Maricopa County Public Health said many farmers markets in the county also accept SNAP benefits from people who qualify.
"Several farmers markets have the Double Up food program where when you spend $10 with SNAP benefits on the farmers market, they give you an additional $10 to spend on produce at the farmers market," Singh said. "That actually doubles your food budget for those $10."
For a list of which farmers markets in Maricopa County accept SNAP benefits, recipes that go with in-season produce, and the latest events, check out the Maricopa Healthy app or webpage.