Hidden Farmer's Market: Oakes Farms

By Alisha Diaz

Fresh fruit, vegetables, bread, meat, seafood- the list goes on and on. These things can be hard to come by, and they shouldn't be. Have you heard of Oakes Farms? They pride themselves on the ability to bring food from the seed to your table. (Link: http://www.oakesfarms.com/services/retail-stores/oakes-farms-market/) That pride is well founded as well. Moises, my husband, and I had the great honor to visit their store on New Years Day. I had been there once before, thanks to my sister. I loved it so much and had to take Moises there as soon as I could. I was so impressed! Let me fill you in on why.

The food is as fresh as it can be. The farm is located in Immokalee, Florida (East Collier County). The huge store is located in Naples, Florida. My guess is that the food is grown about an hour away! There is something special about eating food from your hometown. The fruits and vegetables are huge! I got a grapefruit that was about the size of my head. We got some garlic about the size of my fist and some of the biggest lemons I've seen in my life! These fruits and vegetables weren't just huge, they tasted great. It didn't taste modified or chemically filled. I recommend this place by the quaily of the produce, but that is just the beginning!

The prices are amazing! The wonderful grapefruit I mentioned was $1.oo per pound! What! I've never seen that price in the grocery store. The lemons were 2 for $1.00. I have seen prices lower than that in stores, but they were nasty looking lemons compared to these beauties, and the size was quite smaller. We were able to get orange honey for  $4.99. This honey came from Walker Farms in Fort Myers. What! That is so cool. That is only a town away and very local. (Link: http://walkerfarmshoney.com/) When I went to the regular grocery store a week or so later, I decided to check out the honey. We were amazed. The prices were significantly higher, and they were from very far places. Some of them were from other countries! One brand, unnamed, said it was a Florida brand. We checked it's address on the back, and it had an out of state address! We weren't sure how that even works. Oakes Farms is about 45 minutes away from our house, so it is not always accessible, but we hope to start getting most of our groceries there when we can.

The store is huge! I could lose my husband in there easily. They have to have a large facility to be able to hold all of the assorted foods they carry. They have tons of great produce, a fresh seafood counter, a full butcher section, an extensive bakery,  pre-made dinners available galore, and a mini cafe! They also had a gardening section outside as well. We did stick to buying produce that day, but we can't wait to go back and try some of the sweets they have.

Oakes Farms is officially one of our favorite places in SWFL. It's like an airconditioned farmer's market. Floridans know how hot an outdoor farmer's market can be, and we don't take our air conditioning for granted. This place still gives you the experience of a farmers market, but has so much more to offer. They are actually building one closer to us, on Immokalee Road, and we really can't wait for it to open. Have you been to Oakes Farms? If you haven't, go check it out and let us know what you think! I hope you love it as much as we do!

Stayed tuned for more blogs coming soon!