Put the market cooler in the errand plan

Present

Fresh purchases need a trip home that accounts for both the food and the extra stops.

2 minute read · Gretna Junction Research Desk

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At a glance

Bring a cold source for perishables.
Keep raw products separate.
Plan the order of errands before shopping.

The last mile is part of the purchase

A farmers-market visit may become one stop in a longer day: a prescription pickup, a family visit and a hardware errand before returning to Gretna. Food handling continues after money changes hands.

Decide which stop comes last and where refrigerated purchases will go before leaving home.

USDA's market-shopping guidance recommends an insulated bag or cooler with cold sources for perishables and keeping them below 40 degrees Fahrenheit during shopping and the journey home. Its guidance also addresses separating raw meat and poultry and cleaning reusable bags.

A reusable tote is useful, but it does not provide refrigeration by itself.

Give the bags separate jobs

For an original packing exercise, set out a produce tote, a separate bag for packaged raw products and a cooler. Imagine buying greens, peaches and a refrigerated item.

Decide where each will travel without letting raw-product leakage reach ready-to-eat food. Check the cooler's available room before buying more than it can hold.

Read the seller's storage directions and ask questions while you can still identify the product. If your remaining stops make appropriate cold storage uncertain, change the errand order or postpone that purchase.

A bargain is not useful when its trip home defeats its handling requirements.

Unload before the other chores

Make unloading refrigerated food the first task on reaching home. Then clean bags as directed for their materials, let them dry and return them to the place where the next shopping trip begins.

Write any unfamiliar ingredient into a near-term meal plan. These small habits connect appreciation for regional growers with taking care of the products they have already grown, packed and brought to market.

Sources & verification

USDA FSIS: Shopping at the Farmers Market with Food Safety in Mind

Market transport, cold sources, raw-product separation and reusable-bag guidance.

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