Down in South Texas, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. Along the roadsides and at many intersections, you can purchase all kinds of delicious goods. From elotes and aguas frescas to pineapples and mangoes, shopping can be done quickly and easily. Even after the boom of fireworks sales is over, many roadside merchants are still hard at work.
As I was travelling, I noticed a produce stand set up on a corner. I pulled in and checked it out. The pineapples were warm and ripe, and you could smell them in the breeze. It was so delicious just to breathe. The man had some pretty competitive prices too.
Here is a run-down of what I purchased.
2 Pineapples - $5 USD total
2 Coconuts - $2 USD total
3 Jimicas - $3 USD total
1 Bag of Oranges - $5 USD total
1 Case of Mangoes - $5 USD total
It was a pretty good purchase for $20 total. Of course some supermarkets and grocery stores can periodically beat those prices, but still. Also, just like it is at the grocery store, this produce was not grown by this man. He is an entrepreneur and is just trying to make some income by selling items for more than he purchased them for.
A few nice things about shopping this way include the following:
Open air
No advertising or other overhead costs are figured into the price
No need to unload the entire family out of the vehicle in order to shop
Supports people attempting to work for themselves
OTHER BENEFITS
Eating raw and whole foods is highly preferred over over-processed and packaged “food-stuffs” commonly available these days. Honestly, our food can either poison us or nourish us, and it is important for us all to make healthy choices for ourselves and our children.
Having fruit for an afternoon snack is a delicious way to get a boost of midday energy. We also like to teach our @little-peppers about where food comes from, and it is a much easier lesson to teach them where a fruit comes from than a lengthy list of unpronounceable chemicals on the ingredient list.
Shopping this way also has a certain nostalgic feeling about it. It reminds me of the farmer’s markets and farms where you can shop directly at. It is not often that I see anything like these roadside vendors in Arkansas or Wisconsin, so this has become a nice “Texas treat” for me. Do any of you have any roadside vendors like this in areas near you? If so, do you ever shop there?
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-roadside-produce
Until next time…
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