By Niesha Lofing, Sacramento Bee

Shoppers by the thousands heed the siren call of farm-fresh foods at a staggering 50 farmers markets dotting the region.

Many of these stomping grounds of sustainability have been initiating locals into healthy, locally grown food long before the word “locavore” was coined. They offer culinary inspiration in packages as tiny and wholesome as a blackberry and connect buyers eye to eye with the people growing their food.

Whatever the motivation for hitting the farmers market, underlying it all is one act: shopping. And these days, shopping is all about deals.

Farmers' markets are about freshness, not always a price break. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Yet many farmers markets have evolved into hot spots for the urban upper crust. (Those monogrammed jute bags are the giveaway.) So The Bee’s Food & Wine staff wondered: Can the average shopper find bargains at a farmers market?

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