Farmers markets and local produce in Collin County

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Cooking in an RV changes how you shop. You don't have a pantry to stockpile into or a freezer that holds a month of meat, so you end up buying smaller and more often. That turns out to suit a farmers market almost perfectly.

Here's where to go around here.

McKinney Farmers Market at Chestnut Square

The big one, and the one most people in Collin County name first. It runs every Saturday morning year-round on South Chestnut Street, with local meat, eggs, produce, baked goods, and prepared food alongside craft vendors.

• Saturdays, mornings — earlier start in spring through December, a later one in the winter months
• Best for: a proper weekly shop, plus breakfast while you're there
• Go early if you want the good produce; the popular vendors sell out

Farmersville Market and Flea Market

Closer to home and a different animal — once a month rather than weekly, and as much flea market as farmers market. Worth timing a Saturday around if you like the treasure-hunt version of shopping.

• First Saturday of the month
• Best for: produce plus browsing, and a reason to be on the square

Georgia's Farmers Market — McKinney

Not a weekend market but a year-round produce store, which is arguably more useful when you're shopping small and often. Fresh produce, local goods, and a couple of food spots attached to the same lot.

Small fridge, small hauls, more often. It's the one part of RV life that makes you eat better by accident.

Local Yocal Farm to Market — McKinney

A butcher rather than a market, but the right stop if you want Texas-raised beef and pork and you'd rather buy two good steaks than a family pack you have nowhere to put.

Worth the drive east

Greenville runs a market at Market Square downtown, which pairs nicely with a morning over that way. If you're already making the Greenville trip for other reasons, check the schedule and stack the two.

Shopping small-fridge style

• Bring your own bags and a cooler — a hot car undoes a good haul fast in a Texas summer.
• Buy for three or four days, not a week. You'll waste less and eat it at its best.
• Ask vendors what's actually in season. Buying at peak is how the price stays reasonable.
• Cash still moves faster at some stalls, even where cards are accepted.
• Go with a rough plan but stay flexible — the best thing at the market is rarely the thing on your list.

What's in season, roughly

• Spring: greens, strawberries, onions, early squash
• Summer: tomatoes, peaches, melons, peppers, okra, corn
• Fall: sweet potatoes, pumpkins, greens again, late peppers
• Winter: citrus, root vegetables, hardy greens

Once you've got a Saturday routine, the rest sorts itself out. It's a good excuse to get off the site early and see a little of the county.