Georgia State Farmer's Market

Claiming to be the largest open air market in the world (I cannot verify that). It has been open since 1958, sits resplendent on 150 acres with nearly 600 stalls, has a garden center with a nursery, wholesale and retail sales, and is a major distribution point for fresh produce in the Southeast and throughout the country. All my fresh produce vendors have offices very near the GSFM. I went down there on a Saturday, which, ironically, is not one of their busiest days. They do a lot of business, though. Something like 3,500 people a day work deals with vendors, and it adds up to about $500 million a year in sales.

With such large clientele its no wonder the market is open, rain or shine, 364 days a year, Mon-Sun, closed only for Christmas. The vendors are allowed to set their own hours, so there’s no telling when you go just how many people will be there. There are good deals to be had, but don’t be afraid to shop around and haggle. They claim to have a very large supply of Georgia grown foods, but I had a hard time finding anything outstanding, other than what was typically seasonal, like peaches and tomatoes. I think small farmers have a hard time being represented there. Organic specialties are not to be had at all at the vendor stalls. A large number of the vendors are Latino-owned, as are many of the customers. It is a great place to get produce by the case, or just by the pound. But it is not a homey place. I don’t think this is the place I will go to build repoire with my local farmer or market vendor. Even though it is huge, it doesn’t take long to exhaust the variety of what is available, either. They have a nursery and garden center at the end of the stalls, with tons of plants and fruit trees and herbs and flowers. There is also a restaurant at the entrance, but we didn’t go in to eat. It’s location in Forest Park makes it tough for me to get to, but might be worth the effort around Christmas time when the trees go on sale. They sell thousands of Christmas trees in Decmember. And the Pumpkin Master has pallets of multi-colored pumpkins and gourds in the fall.

Not some place I would go out of my way to frequent, but definitely a resource for certain things.