Westover Farmers Market — Local services in Falls Church

I really like this farmers market. But there is one vendor that I would give Zero Stars to: Barajas Produce. It would be unfair to rate the entire market based on one terrible experience at one vendor. So I give the market 3 stars.

At Barajas Produce today, I was selecting produce from smaller bins. A lady who I’ve now confirmed is one of the owners of this business approached me and, with her voice raised, said, “I saw you do that. I saw you rearrange the produce and select different ones. You are not supposed to do that. I saw you do it.” I said I thought they were sold by weight because there was no sign indicating otherwise. She raised her voice and repeated what she had said. I then told her that I truly hadn’t realized that the produce was not sold by weight and offered to put them back for her to rearrange again. She declined and said I can just go and pay, but once again repeated “I saw you rearranging them,” to which I said I was not trying to hide anything because I didn’t think I was doing something wrong. And that she could simply inform without accusing someone of cheating in a very rude manner. She said nothing in response.

While I completely understand selling produce pre-arranged into a “bundled package,” my mistake was not intentional. True that the produce in each bin included many that were spoiled, they are entitled to this policy. My issue is not at all with how they decide to sell their produce. But the lady implied I was trying to steal and cheat without first informing me of their pricing. This accusation was exacerbated by the fact that someone else ahead of me was doing the exact same thing. As she was berating me, I noticed that I was the only “ethnically ambiguous” person with darker features at that vendor, at that time. Perhaps a coincidence. Perhaps not.

I still bought $20 worth of produce from this vendor. But I will not be supporting this business again.

I come to Westover’s Farmers Market not to simply buy groceries, but to feel a sense of community. To support local farmers. I come for the experience, the positive ambiance. To feel a sense of belonging to my neighborhood. To see and connect with who I buy my produce from. And 99% of the time, I get exactly that. The farmers market at Westover is full of friendly vendors and locals who come together once a week - rain or shine - as one community. They buy and sell coffee, fruit, honey, flowers, donuts, bread, and all sorts of wonderful products. But we all know we are there for more than the products. If we only wanted groceries, we’d all go over to one of ten grocery stores within a 10 mile radius from us and pay likely half of what we would pay at a farmers market.

The lady at Barajas Produce who went out of her way to be rude to a well-intentioned local accompanied by her small children, in front of several other customers, who upon my calm and polite explanation still did not try to apologize, does not understand that what she’s selling is not only produce but also an experience. In this case, a very negative one.

I shared my feedback with a nice representative at the Farmers Market and I appreciate that he...

An excellent and friendly neighborhood Sunday market. For the somewhat awkward location, the organizers have really figures out a flow that’s efficient and has a lot of diverse and great vendors. They also did a fantastic job (the best I’ve seen in the area) adjusting to the realities of the pandemic and making sure that all customers feel safe and welcome. Beyond just meeting minimal “in compliance with” local laws and guidelines (as other markets like to put it), the Westover Market has done a great job of controlling the number of shoppers at any time (since reopening, there is a new measure of a line to get in, but it moves very quickly and orderly), keeping foot traffic in one direction and separate from those standing in line. Hash marks for each vendor’s line, etc. The staff is very courteous and patient with all. Being in a high risk group right now, I feel very safe coming here. Because of all these things, I keep coming here despite living...

Excellent farmers market! I love that this Farmer's Market is open on Sundays. It has plenty of produce vendors, orchards, baked goods (fresh bread!), eggs, meat, the BEST olive oil in the DMV, specialty mushrooms, mini apple cider donuts, and so much more! It's not nearly as crowded as some of the larger farmers markets in this area, but it has just as much variety. They also have live music starting around 9 AM, so it's just an overall pleasant way to spend a Sunday morning in...