National Farmers Market Week

It’s time to get ready for National Farmers Market Week! Now in its 24th year, National Farmers Market Week (August 6-12, 2023) is an annual celebration that highlights the vital role farmers markets play in our nation’s food system. With fun events, programs, contests, activities, and more, the week helps to boost market attendance and visibility, and is a great opportunity to showcase how much value markets bring to their communities. 

Farmers markets are some of the most community-based enterprises to exist. More than 85% of farmers market vendors traveled fewer than 50 miles to sell at a farmers market. In fact, more than half of farmers went less than 10 miles to their market, according to the USDA.

The annual national proclamation from the U.S.D.A. making this Farmers Market Week praises the local effort for producers to sell directly to customers:

They “serve as significant outlets by which small-to-medium, new and beginning, and veteran agricultural producers market agricultural products, and [generate] revenue that supports the sustainability of family farms and the revitalization of rural communities nationwide.”

What is the farmers market?

A farmers market is a public retail event, usually, one in which farmers or their family members directly sell their products to consumers.

They are not elaborate points of sale, often no more than a display of produce from the back of a pickup truck, or the side door of a van parked along with others in an urban parking lot. Farmers markets are very personable; bonds grow between farmers, shoppers, and communities.

By cutting out middlemen, farmers earn more from their goods ow and shoppers receive fresh locally produced food.

The advantages of buying at a farmers market:

• Taste the real flavors of the produce
• Celebrate the season with a traditional bounty
• Support the local economy
• Eat wholesome natural foods instead of processed foods
• Building connections to learn cooking tips, recipes, and meal ideas

HOW TO OBSERVE

Visit a farmers market. Each market has a different feel, so visit several for a nutritional and educational outing.

There are nearly 10,000 farmers markets in the United States. You can find a local farmers market from the U.S.D.A. listing.

Use #farmersmarketweek to follow the conversation on social media.

HISTORY

The U.S. Department of Agriculture proclaimed the first National Farmers Market Week in 1999.