This is a myth.
Yes, in the past it may have taken more time for seasonal fresh produce to get to store as the supermarkets dealt with middle men/women who in turn dealt with the farmers.
Today, many of the supermarkets deal directly with farmers and leave the middle guys (independent wholesalers) out. The supermarkets deal directly with farmers who contract grow produce directly for the supermarkets. As a result, it takes days for most seasonal fresh produce to go from the farm to the supermarket.
Some farmers cold store seasonal produce until they have sufficient volumes to meet their contract obligations or to have a truckload for delivery to the supermarket distribution centres. Supermarkets also may cold store product for brief times in preparation for dispatch to their stores. This time period is days and not a month.
It is also worth noting that any fruit and vegetables not is season in the local area will be cold stored. This includes that at farmer markets…otherwise one ould only see some fruits such as apples for about a month ler year. Many fruits and vegetables which are transported long distances across Australia are also often transported in refigerated trucks. This is to prevent premature ripening/spoiling of fruit and vegetables from fluctuating ambient temperatures.
A farmers market will have both seasonally and locally fesh produce as well as locally out of season fresh produce which has either been cold stores (e.g. apples) or transported long distances in refrigerated trucks. If this was not the case, farmers market wpuld have a very limited rsnge of fresh local produce. This is not the case in all the farmers markets i have seen.
