Gary LaRue of Princeton is one of thousands of roadside stand vegetable vendors working Mountain State roadways during the summer and fall months. LaRue has been on the job for the past 20 years and says he can’t imagine doing anything else.
“I do it for enjoyment,” he says, “knowing that I am providing my customers with top quality items.”
LaRue has followed a family tradition for the past 20 years, providing fresh fruits, vegetables, melons, jams, and honey to Southern West Virginia communities.
He gets up early and heads to the Virginia vegetable vendors in Hillsville in early summer and later in the season he sells local produce at his movable roadside market, mostly along U.S. Route 19 in Mercer, Raleigh, and Fayette counties.
LaRue said of his products, “Honey and tomatoes are customer favorites all season long.”
LaRue worked with his father, the late Clarence LaRue of Princeton, who was a veteran marketer of vegetables until he passed away a couple of years ago.
The younger LaRue tries to save his customers money by selling his quality items at a reasonable price, even though he must haul the produce nearly 100 miles back to his roadside stands.
And he has seen the price of produce and honey skyrocket during the past few years. “Everything has gone up,” LaRue said. “Not only food prices, but gasoline too.”
The peppy marketer offers honey, tomatoes, cabbage, melons, potatoes, corn, peppers, cucumbers, and onions when in season.
LaRue said he tries to find a good spot alongside the road where he puts out his wares and waits for motorists looking for a bargain. “In the life of a roadside vendor, no two days are ever exactly alike,” LaRue said. “The number of roadside produce stands is growing in our region, because consumers are looking for locally produced and cheaper food this time of year.”
A Department of Agriculture spokesman announced recently that the number of farmers markets and roadside produce stands has tripled since the early 1990s. There were more than 150 markets and roadside stands in operation last summer.
West Virginia University agricultural extension agent David Richmond said the marketers’ popularity isn’t surprising. “High gasoline prices have driven up the cost of food in our state,” Richmond, extension agent for Raleigh and Summers counties, explained. “Consumers also are concerned about food safety. They have become very interested in where their food comes from.
Recent studies show that consumers desire a stronger connection to the farmers who grow their vegetables, which has resulted in a demand shift in the U.S. produce industry. Buyers are more comfortable buying produce that’s grown locally than food that is produced elsewhere.”
At the same time, producers are looking for alternative ways to market their produce to increase farm income.
Marketing direct to consumers through a roadside stand provides the opportunity to increase farm income and offers consumers access to fresher, high-quality foods, the extension agent explained, noting that the trend is expected to continue for years to come.
In addition, consumers are looking for flavorful foods,and most wholesale produce is harvested before it is fully ripened due to shipping and storage logistics, Richmond pointed out.
As a result, available fresh fruits and vegetables may not have the same taste and texture as they would if they were harvested, sold, and consumed locally, Richmond said, adding “Roadside stands offer consumers the opportunity to purchase farm fresh produce as it ripens.”
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Top o’ the morning!