Celebrate National Farmers’ Market Week

Throughout the country this week people are celebrating outdoor produce festivities known as farmer’s markets. Though farmer’s markets take place year round all across the United States, this week has been recognized as National Farmer’s Market Week, which runs from August 2 through August 8. The rising trend to purchase local produce, rather than international food that requires a large carbon footprint to be made and shipped to your hometown, has increased the popularity of farmer’s markets. Take a look at the bottom of the page for the rising trend in farmer’s market popularity and how national, state, and local governments are teaming up to help promote eco-friendly eating habits and support local farmers at the same time. The United State Department of Agriculture has been tracking the number of registered farmer’s markets since 1994. In that time, the number of farmer’s markets nationwide has risen from 1,755 (in 1994) to 4,685 (in 2008), a 267 percent increase! The Department of Agriculture only updates their figures once every two years, so the number will most likely be higher in 2009. National Farmer’s Market Week has been officially announced every year since 2000 by the Secretary of Agriculture, now Tom Vilsack. During this year’s proclamation of Farmer’s Market Week, he cited the number of farmer’s markets at over 4,800. Large private supporters of farmer’s markets include some of the largest hospital organizations in the country. Kaiser Permanente has begun listing local farmer’s markets on their website and is even including organic food in some treatment plans. Most large cities and many towns now have their own weekly farmer’s markets. They provide a valuable service to communities and are even being included in community development plans. Care2 has a large directory of farmer’s markets and runs contests that award cash prizes to individuals that recruit the most fans to the site. There is currently a $5,000 grand prize for the market that receives the most votes, with prizes running down to $1,000 for fifth place. In addition, each week a random market is chosen for a $250 prize. Farmer’s Markets even provide a significant financial benefit. The Huffington Post reports that “In Iowa, nearly $20.8 million dollars of economic activity was generated by farmers markets and 324 jobs were specifically linked to farmers market in 2004 and the state now ranks among the top ten for number of farmers markets in the country. In Washington State, farmer’s markets sales were at a hefty $55 million in 2007, soaring from $38 million in 2006.” By adding millions of dollars in new revenue for states and businesses currently struggling to balance their budgets and turn profits, farmer’s markets are an eco-friendly, community-based solution. You can search for local markets at Care2 or Local Harvest which maintain enormous farmer’s market databases and have all of the latest news on local, organic products.