How much does FRESH matter?

I found this bumper sticker last week in the parking lot of the Marshal Mesa trail head. While I instantly loved it, it made me wonder how much does FRESH really matter?

Welcome to the Boulder Farmers Market, where the hype for FRESH, ORGANIC, LOCALLY GROWN food is the equivalent to a child on Christmas, every Wednesday and Saturday.

The obvious selling point for local Farms might be less chemical usage than commercially sold vegetables and fruits to big name supermarkets. However what I want to know is how much greater is the nutritional value at the Farmers Market? How much does FRESH matter?
All veggies lose some of their nutritional value from the time they're picked, shipped, unloaded and sold in the grocery stores. Considering the average fruit or vegetable travels 1500- 2500 mile from the farm to your plate, this shouldn't be surprising. At the Farmer's Market, everything is locally grown and picked-so there is no lag time.

In my search, the common motif of the suffering green beans and spinach kept popping up.
According to a study published in GlycoScience and Nutrition:

• Green beans refrigerated after harvest lost more than 90% ascorbic acid following 16 days of refrigeration

• Broccoli lost about 50% of both ascorbic acid and beta-carotene following 5 days of storage.

• Following cold storage for 8 days in the light, spinach lost 22% lutein; in 8 days of dark cold, spinach lost 18% beta-carotene. Carrot carotenoids were stable under both conditions.
• Storage partially depletes milk of vitamin C.

While the elite runner in me would like all of my fruits and vegetable to come from the Farmer's Market, the college student's wallet argues that it's not going to happen. I settled with a bag of spinach and a tomato plant!