We went to the Farmers Market in Haines City, the closest city to Tuscany Preserve that has a farmers market. We were in search of Organic fruits and vegetables.
The Haines City Farmers Market is open every Wednesday from 8 am to 2 pm and is located in their 
downtown square area (15 N. 5th Street). As you can see from the picture, the turn out is not very large. There were four or five vendors. We walked around to each of them and asked if they sold organic fruits or vegetables. Most of them said “no.” One guy said “Sometimes they are organic. Other times they are not. This time they are not.” Another vendor tried to tell me the avocados were organic because no chemical fertilizer has been used in years. Clearly they did not understand the organic certification. So, we got back into our trusty SUV, Ebony, and headed back to home base.
Undeterred, Mandy did additional research and found a market that sold organic fruits and vegetables. It 
was 25 miles away. But, we decided to make the trek and check them out. The place is called Kissimmee’s Green Place. They are located at 4130 Cardinal Lane, Kissimmee, FL. They are open on Wednesday from 10 am to 6 pm, Saturday from 9 am to 12 pm and Sunday from 10 am to 3 pm. It took us a bit to get there because most of the roads we had to take were city streets. Once we got out of the city and traversed down a gravel road, we came upon this jewel of a place. When we pulled up, the market building was green and you could see food growing under a covered environment. We knew we were in the right place this time. Our only thought as we walked up to the door was, “We really hope that their prices are reasonable being this far out.”
We entered and we were cheerfully greeted by Susan, the proprietor of the market and farm. She answered all of the questions that we had about her produce, pricing, sourcing, etc. She was both helpful and knowledgeable. They had a decent selection of vegetables and a few fruits. When we went to check out, we were happy to see that the prices were very reasonable; especially when compared with the quantity of produce you would have to purchase to equal the same nutrient content. $60 and two large reusable grocery bags later, we exited with an assortment of vegetables and two dozen eggs from cage free, vegetarian fed, no antibiotic or hormone chickens.
When we got home, Mandy fixed up some of the collard greens and sweet potatoes that we purchased. The entire family cleaned up all the food. We are sold on Kissimmee’s Green Place and will be returning while we are in this area. If you visit the Green Place, tell Susan that The Nomads (Chase and Mandy) from Living Nomad Style sent you.
I’m glad you found somewhere to get organic food. I was not at all impressed with the farmer’s markets when I lived in Sanford. The people selling the food weren’t even the farmers!
Carrie – We were glad that we found the organic food as well. When you visit Green Place you can actually see them growing food (some of which is shown in our pix). With so many places jumping on the “green” or “organic” bandwagon, it can be difficult to find actual organic food. If you are in the area, you should drop by and see them.