High grocery prices good for local farmers market

By Brandon Taylor
WBTW NEWS 13 Reporter
Published: July 19, 2008

The rising prices at the grocery store are helping one Pee Dee families business.

Thomas Jones and his grandfather have spent the past two years setting up shop at the Pee Dee Farmers Market, but over the past few months they’ve seen a spike in business.

“With the economy getting bad and all the prices in the grocery story rising, you notice a lot more people here buying the produce at lower prices,” said Jones.

Six days a week Thomas and his grandfather Roth Snowden pack up their trucks and head to the market.

Jones said not only is their produce less expensive, but it’s fresher.

“We pick a little bit everyday.  We have cantaloupe, watermelons, tomatoes and sweet corn,” Jones said.

The family owns more than 300 acres of land outside of Marion.

One shopper said they have traded in their weekly grocery store visits to trips to their local farmers market.

The Pee Dee Farmers Market is open Monday through Saturday.