My wife ran a farmer's market for years, it can definitely be true.
Vendors tried to sneak stuff in constantly, and unless you have a market manager who really cares and is constantly vigilant, vendors will resell stuff they have bought in bulk and are reselling at a markup.
Not all vendors of course, but like anything else there's always a handful of bad actors.
Yeah I have seen a farm do this! They bought from other local farms at least, not Target. But the claim "vendors at farmers markets can only sell what they grew themselves" is only true to the extent that there is enforcement and sufficient oversight to find violators.
Vendors tried to sneak stuff in constantly, and unless you have a market manager who really cares and is constantly vigilant, vendors will resell stuff they have bought in bulk and are reselling at a markup.
Not all vendors of course, but like anything else there's always a handful of bad actors.