Polish Farmer's Market

Today I am sharing more information from our recent trip to Poland.  We spent a lot of time visiting markets throughout the small towns in Southern Poland.  It was amazing to see the variety and quantity of items offered. 

Almost every town has a market at least one day a week and the larger towns have a market every day.  The market in Kryz's hometown of Nowy Sacz is everyday, and we visited multiple times during our trip. 

Similar to a farmer's market in America, there is a large section with fresh produce.  However, the variety of produce available in May was much larger than what we are seeing now in Illinois.  This is because there are many greenhouses throughout the countryside that allow tomatoes and cucumbers to be grown in cooler months.  And of course, some of the items are imported, as they are labeled. The culture in Poland is still practices shopping locally for food multiple times a week instead of large shopping trips to supermarkets.

I also love this section of the market.  These tables are set up for anyone to use.  If you have some extra produce you want to sell, you just lay it out on the table and offer it for sale.  Many people will use these tables to make a little extra money off the surplus items they grow and raise for themselves.  In addition to produce, we saw many people selling eggs, cheese and even chickens!

There are also many booths selling goods as well.  People in Poland have a tradition of frequenting markets for their shopping.  Many people still don't have or use a car regularly, and with the new large supermarkets being located on the outskirts of town, these markets in the town center are used for many purchases.  We loved these booths which featured goods made in Poland.  From novelty, to decorative to functional, Poland has a so many products to offer!

I've got lots more to share with you in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!  Next up I will share about two other large markets we visited!