Never been to a cheaper farmer’s market in my life. I’ve lived in New York, Chicago and Baltimore. Intrigued by this concept. Can’t
imagine it actually exists anywhere.
Toll roads, long driving, competition and dealing with parking and paying to set up in a high-demand area are all problems farmers face at large city markets. Go almost anywhere else and you'll indeed be surprised.
It is certainly the case in the Central Valley in California. I got great wine grapes for $1/pound as well and wonderful organic persimmons for that same price. However, that area has a bunch of actual farmers.
Those are all fairly large cities. I find, living genuinely pretty close to the farms themselves, that the farmers market around here is pretty affordable. And nicely does accept things like WIC.
Those are all big cities... Are you unable to imagine anything other than an urban environment? That's sad
Have you been making a (literal) apples to apples comparison though? I find that farmer's markets in my area (Seattle) can be cheaper than Whole Foods for organic locally sourced things in season but definitely more expensive than going to a regular grocery store.