Friday, November 5, 2010

Where Country Meets Yuppie

We wandered up to our local Sunflower Market this afternoon and noticed that they have straw bales for sale. Meant to be decorative, surely, as we're in that pumpkin-y, scarecrow-y time of year. Nice idea, right? Get a straw bale to dress up the front yard...


Ok, I'm sorry. $20 for a bale of straw?!? The same thing costs $6.50 at feed stores (one of which is located about a mile away), and even that price causes veteran farmers to guffaw.

Of course, Sunflower is free to sell their straw bales for whatever they'd like. If customers perceive the price to be too high, they won't buy them. However, I do worry about what the prospect of someone paying $20 for a bale of straw says about how out of touch we've become with our agricultural roots.

What do you think?

2 comments:

Debbie D said...

I had the same experience last year at Albertsons... I asked if I could have their straw when they were done with their Halloween display (post 10/31). Their answer: "Yes, for $16 / bale." I also asked at Whole Foods. Their answer: "Yes, come back after Halloween." I showed up on 11/2 and they used their fork lift to load all 8 bales in my truck FOR FREE!

Sundari Elizabeth said...

That's great, Debbie. Who'd have thought that Whole Foods would be cheaper than Albertsons?