News 3 Now ·  Desktop WX ·  Contact ·  Site Map
Home  ·   News  ·   Weather  ·   Sports  ·   Features  ·   Business  ·   Morning Show  ·   The Buzz  ·   Eye on You (Your Photos & Videos)  ·   KBTX Cares
At the Movies · Eat.Stay.Play. · Contest · Calendar · Lottery · Blogs · Inside KBTX · Job Search · Obituaries · CW Texas · CBS · Digital TV · Gas Prices
The Farmer's Market: A Home-Grown Solution Save Email Print
Posted: 2:03 PM Jul 10, 2008
Last Updated: 2:03 PM Jul 10, 2008
Reporter: Kristen Ross
Email Address: ross@kbtx.com

A | A | A

You've heard about the tomato recall, the beef beat down, or maybe you even remember the spinach scare.

It almost makes you wonder: what food is safe these days? A home-grown alternative is quickly becoming a solution for many in the Brazos Valley.

For the past 45 years, Lois Vaughn has picked, snipped and gathered fruits and vegetables from her own family garden.

"We helped supply the food for the family. Then, we had our own family," Vaughn said. "We always wanted to know what we ate."

Knowing, for example, what kind of fertilizer was used, or if any pesticides or sprays made it onto these herbs before they made it into her mouth.

"When you buy something in the store -- say with the tomato thing going around right now -- you just don't know how the tomatoes were handled," Vaughn said.

Each week, Lois packs up her love for fresh food and sharing it with others. She's not alone.

"We had that tomato scare a while back and I'm still doing very well. Our sales are very high right now," tomato producer Tanya Miller says.

Miller says business is not only good, it's almost too good.

"We just can't grow enough. Our supply doesn't meet our demand," Miller said. "So that's why we are going to start adding green houses."

Tanya says she has seen not only seen a jump in the number of people interested in her produce, but also more people looking at buying local

"The stuff you get in the grocery store is once again picked like this and shipped far distances like Canada and Mexico," Miller said.

Tanya's stuff travels just a few miles to the local farmer's market. That's where she and Lois Vaughn offer some of the best home-grown foods the Brazos Valley has to offer.

"You can have that one. It's all for you," Vaughn tells a customer.

For about the same cost of the foods you'll see in the supermarket, Lois and Tanya say the foods at the Farmers' Market also come with a freshness guarantee.

If the Farmers' Market sounds like something you want to check out here's some opportunities for you. On Wednesdays, they're up and running at College Station Central Park from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturday's you can find them in Bryan at the corner of Texas Avenue and William J. Bryan from 8 a.m. until noon.

More Stories
Franklin Family Stands Up to Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer Airs Tonight

9/11 Medical Research

2.4 Million Cases of Lung Cancer Blamed on Tobacco Use

Obesity May Make Asthma Worse

Childhood Vaccination Rates Reach Near Record Highs

Brazos County Resident Dies From West Nile Virus

Children Born Premature at Risk for Behavior Problems

Post Your Comments
First Name:
Location:
Enter Comments: characters left
Email (optional):
Email will not be displayed on site. For station contact purpose only.
Read Comments
Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.
Posted by: Flint Elsik Location: Ft. Bragg, Nc on Jul 22, 2008 at 09:03 PM
I am proud of my dad David. He is at almost every Farmer's Market as a vendor (the one in Bryan and College Station) His garden is about a half acer. He has everything! Okra, Tomato's, 5 types of squash, 5 types of cucumber, 7 types of egg-plant, Sweet Basel, lime Basel, Dill, swiss-chard, the list goes on. He takes care of the entire garden with little to no help, and as for the quality of his produce it is awesome! Not only does it look good it taste amazing! While I was home on leave the wife and I went to the Farmer's Market with him, and every time I turned around she was eating something else that my Dad had brought to the market. I normally don't like egg-plant but I could eat his all day. I just wish that I lived closer to home so that I could get my veggies from him all of the time. Yes I am in the Army but my Dad is my Hero!

Posted by: Heather Location: Bryan on Jul 8, 2008 at 05:21 PM
MS - Typically the eggs are all gone within 30-60 minutes of the market opening, but I usually show up between 8:30 and 10:00 and get all the fruits and veggies I need. I don't buy ANY fruits, veggies, herbs, honey, eggs etc at the grocery. There is so much of a supply at Saturday's market, all my needs are met right there. Hope you come out and give it a try!

Posted by: Ann Location: Bryan on Jul 8, 2008 at 02:20 PM
Don't forget about the Independent Growers Market located at the Sons of Hermann Lodge Parking Lot on Wed & Sat 7-11 a.m. / 1104 West Wm J Bryan Pkwy / There you will find "Garden Direct" Fruit and Veggies. The BEST cantaloupe and tomatoes and more - all grown in Brazos County

Posted by: MS Location: CS on Jul 8, 2008 at 01:58 PM
I have never been to any of the Farmers' Markets in the B/CS area, but I was curious how busy they are here? In my hometown, the Farmers' Markets were insane - people would get there early, bulldoze over each other and clean out the vendors in the first 20 minutes. I was just curious if it is worth the time to visit the markets here. :)

Posted by: Lynn Location: Brazos Co on Jul 8, 2008 at 12:13 PM
I have been eating vegetables from Tanyas garden for some time now and I will tell you there are no fresher or better tasting vegetables to be consumed. With the quality control Tanya uses on her plants, I never worried about the veggie scare because I KNEW how mine had been raised!

Posted by: Heather Location: Bryan on Jul 8, 2008 at 10:41 AM
What wasn't mentioned is that not only does buying from the farmers market allow you to know EXACTLY where you food is coming from, but it tastes SO much better than anything you can pick up at the grocery store. I've been eating almost exclusively from the Saturday farmers market in Bryan for 8 months. It's seriously good food and good for you too!