Ramble On

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Small and Odd Lots at the Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction


After we moved on from the large lot sales, I took Mary through the cross-packing area, where the pallets from the auction are broken down into buyers’ orders so they can be loaded onto trucks for hauling off to Wegmans, Whole Foods, or where ever they’re bound (which may also be the DC Central Kitchen – donations are made here).  

Just on the other side of this area is where the small lots are auctioned.

There is a sort of organization to this area, but I never got the hang of it.  I usually just helped unload whatever David had for sale that day, and moved the goods to where ever I was told.  By the way, that was mostly tomatoes last year - David is the Tomato King.

So, during this visit, we just kind of walked through at random to check out what was for sale. 

I’ve got a few highlight photos here – blackberries, peaches, an interesting kind of summer squash, sweet corn, and raw honey.  On a typical day, you might see cantaloupes, apples, herbs in packs or pots, and even flowers, either cut or in hanging baskets. 

There was still a lot of activity going on in this area – loading and unloading, and buyers walking through to check out the offerings, so we didn’t stay long. 

There was pie waiting.

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