El Galpón Market Orgánico

The road to El Galpón

Hidden down a desolate Chacarita cobblestone road between rusted abandoned train cars and the Federico Lacroze station, you will find El Galpón, one of the few co-operative farmers’ markets in Buenos Aires that specializes in organic and natural locally grown products.

El Galpón is not like a traditional farmer’s market that I’ve been spoiled by – it is more like a fair with about 10 stands each featuring a few products. For the past 5 years, local farmers and producers have come to this yellow warehouse biweekly (Wednesdays from 9am – 1pm and Saturdays 9am – 6pm) to sell organic cheeses, vegetables, fruits, freshly cut herbs, dairy, poultry, beef, wines, honey, spices, sweets, clothes and other handmade hempy tree-hugging goods.

Sponsored by the Asociación Mutual Sentimiento, El Galpón emerged as a space for farmers and social organizations (Centro Comunal de Abasteciemiento) to provide consumers with natural products, without pesticides, in order to promote the importance of environmental responsibility, protection of worker’s rights, and fairly priced organic and sustainable food purchases.  The organic craze has yet to hit the city, but with the help of the CCA and the MAPO (Movimiento Argentino para la Producción Orgánica), slowly but surely they are working hard to encourage awareness of the benefits of organic production and consumption.

I made the mistake of arriving at 5:30pm on a Saturday… it was one of those mornings… and by the time I came the place looked ransacked with very little of the good shit left.  No more organic chickens, a sad assortment of the unwanted fruits and vegetables rejects, basically a bunch of empty tables.  Oh well.   It didn’t help being embarrassingly shamed when I inquired about chorizos, apparently it’s “by reservation only” where it’s essential to call ahead and reserve your big fat shlong.  Boo. I moved on to the table and chair area, where you can order a few breakfast, lunch, and merienda items very excited to dig into to something tasty, BUT they were no longer serving food… just not my day…

What’s the best way to cure a disappointed market shopping excursion? SALTY CURED MEATS AND FRESH CHEESES. I left with a big hunk of organic cheese that made me quite the happy camper. Since it is a community cooperative, the way it works is you choose what you want, get a ticket, go to the cash register to pay, and then go back with your ticket to pick up your goods… the place is small so I can only imagine the horrifying lines during prime hours.  I’ll be back bright and early next Saturday, with my chorizo reservation, to check it out again.

Check out El Galpón for yourself on Wednesdays from 9am – 1pm or Saturdays 9am – 6pm, Federico Lacroze 4171, steps from the Federico Lacroze Train & Subway Station.

If you are looking to shop for organic fruits and vegetables, try ordering from several that deliver right to your door, or check out the Green Map Buenos Aires:

http://www.elrinconorganico.com.ar/joomla
http://www.quintafresca.com.ar/pedidos
http://www.talloverde.com/

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