Go? Stop?

I have been walking to my nearest weekly farmers market to buy vegetables, eggs and (not much) meat for years. I approve of eating food that is local and organic, or as close to organic as possible. Since March and Covid, lots of other people have decided that buying outdoors is good so instead of turning up, choosing what I want, having a quick exchange with the grower and leaving, I now have to queue. Queue outside the school playground to get in, queue at the vegetable stall, queue at the egg and meat stall, queue at the milk and cheese stall. Last week it took almost an hour to spend under £10 on vegetables, milk and eggs.

I do understand how much nicer it is for producers to meet and talk with their customers, and explain why eggs change size through the season, or why there is so much soil on the carrots this week or which squash tastes nuttiest and I should be delighted that so many more people are buying food where I think they should, but I seriously thought about giving up and just shopping at the supermarket.

It's quicker at the supermarket but the food has travelled along way. It's cheaper at the supermarket, but that's because the farm workers are treated badly and the farming is over-intensive. I'm profoundly opposed to practices that degrade human beings and the land and that rely on fossil fuels.

So I went back to the farmers market this morning. It was slightly better this week: only 40 minutes queuing (20% of which was standing behind a couple having a long conversation in front of the stall about what they might want to buy - I do not understand why people can't make a shopping list in advance with substitutes in case an item isn't there). But it was pouring with rain and I got soaked.

So what should I do? Can farmers markets be made to work for people who are short of time or who don't want to stand in the rain? If so, how?

My compromise this week was to decide I wouldn't go next week. I bought enough for a fortnight and spent much of the day preparing meals in advance and freezing them (yes, more energy consumption).

Then my camera and I went out to the supermarket in the artificial light of the evening to buy gin.

I'm not sure that was the best solution to my dilemma.