August is smack in the middle of state and county fair season, and it turns out these events can say a lot about the wider economy — especially when it comes to the food operations.For this installment of the Marketplace Economic Pulse, we heard from Dominic Palmieri, the so-called “Midway Gourmet.” As co-owner of Odyssey Foods, he’s in charge of carnival food at all sorts of fairs. He spoke with “Marketplace Morning Report” host Kimberly Adams. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.Kimberly Adams: So, where are you now? What event are you working on?Dominic Palmieri: We're at the famous Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa, California. Basically, one of the largest fairs in all of California, and especially the biggest one in Southern California.Adams: What kind of logistics are involved getting food together for an event like that?Palmieri: When you come to a fair, one of the number one reasons people come is to eat. With that comes a supply chain, because we're providing food to thousands and thousands of people. There’s a lot of specialty meats — like turkey legs and smoked sausage — that we bring in from Texas. The produce that comes in from Northern California and from all across the coast. We have an incredible strawberry program that we're doing. That's basically farm-to-fair in as little as 24 hours.Adams: So, you've got strawberries on the menu. What other kinds of foods are on offer this summer at this event and other events you've been working?Palmieri: Of course, we do some wild and wacky things. We have the hot Cheeto cheese pickle pizza. And we also have the what we call the “porkapalooza” pizza, and we use a chicharrón that we crumble up, and we put that on top of the pizza to give it that texture and that extra flavor.Adams: Just generally, how has business been going?Palmieri: Things are a little been a little bit tight this year and last year, especially with price of gas. Yesterday, $7.02 for a gallon of diesel. That's tough when you talk about that one commodity that powers the supply chain across the country. Groceries, insurance, mortgage rates — so, you know, like every other small business in America, we're struggling a little bit with respect to how much spend is out there with the customers and the economy. Keep in mind that our customer that's coming to a fair, many of them are working families where you have multiple people working in the family, in that household. They're doing everything to make the ends meet, right? So, a day to the fair is a special treat for them. We work super hard to make it extremely affordable for everybody to come.Adams: I also want to ask you about the labor market because the last time we heard from you on the show, you were saying that people who already had a job were trying to pick up shifts at carnivals as well. It's been more than a year. Are you still seeing that trend?Palmieri: We're seeing even more, as a matter of fact. Primarily, for many many years, the fair was a great opportunity for a high school or a college student to come out and and get a job. And we're seeing parents who are bringing the kids to the fairgrounds and helping them, saying, "This is how you go get a job.” So, we are seeing the workforce is coming back that had actually gone away for the past several years. And when we do job fairs, it's amazing how many people are showing up looking for work.