Jul 27 2011
The Quintessential Roadside Stand
I love spending time at our summer camp located in in the heart of the Finger Lakes in Yates County, NY. The region is noted for it’s beautiful lakes, rural charm and enough wineries to keep you going to wine tastings for years to come. These attributes make the region a wonderful place to spend time, but one of the lesser noticed gems of the region are the roadside stands that dot the countryside. Small, family-owned roadside stands are found in abundance in much of central and western NY.
Many roadside stands have a large variety of locally grown, in season produce reflecting the labors of a highly productive family farm. Others, like the small one just a half mile down the road from our camp, have a little bit of everything from the family garden that’s in excess of what the family can use. In either case produce is picked in the morning, and what you are purchasing is both reasonably priced and very fresh. Last summer the very best corn and tomatoes we had for the season came from that little roadside stand. We picked up great tasting produce nearly every day! Earlier today I picked up tomatoes, yellow squash, green beans and a pint of blueberries at a small roadside stand just 2 miles from camp.
One of the unique aspects of the roadside stands is the honor system. Because there is usually no one there attending the stand to sell the produce to you, the premise is very simple: a price is posted for the item, and there’s a jar for you to put your money in. 
Trust, honor and simplicity are virtues that we seldom experience these days, and if you are an urban dweller, you may find this making purchases in this way a bit of a novelty. Yes, the rural areas of the Finger Lakes have many wonderful farmer’s markets and larger commercially run farm stands that are well worth checking out, but don’t overlook those little roadside stands! If you visit this beautiful region, experience first hand the abundance of nutritious, home grown produce found at the roadside stand!
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