National Farmers Market Week
What better time of the year to visit your local farmers markets and help support local food producers than National Farmers Market Week? That’s right, from today, the 6th of August to the 12th of August, it’s National Farmers Market Week! Farmers markets have a lot of history to be celebrated, the first market in the U.S. dating back to 1730; yet they still prove to be just as vital for our nation by providing many communities (8,000+ in the U.S.) with a place we can always go to for fresh and locally grown foods.
In case you haven’t heard of National Farmers Market Week, it isn’t a new celebration; this is the 18th year it has been declared by the USDA. It started back in 1999 as a way to encourage people to support, recognize, and appreciate local farmers and any local food businesses. Since then it has helped not only helped farmers markets grow and nearly double in numbers, but also helped countless customers save their money, and has help to reduce the need to transport produce great distances.
There are many great reasons why you should start purchasing your produce from local farmers markets; if you are still buying from grocery stores, you should know that the produce carried at farmers markets are generally much fresher than produce that has to be both transported and processed, both of which can negatively affect the nutritional quality and quality of taste of your produce. Grocery store produce can travel up to 1,500 miles before getting to your home or even on the grocery store shelves. At a farmers market, it’s usually transported a maximum of 200 miles away; and since farmers markets don’t have to transport their produce nearly as far as big grocers do, you can expect to purchase higher quality produce for a lower price if you purchase from farmers markets. Not only that, but at the farmers market you could probably have a talk with the people who grew your food for you. Good luck having this experience at a grocery store!
At Goffle Brook Farms we encourage anyone interested in a wide range of produce, fruit, and herbs to come and check out what we have available this week. Right now is a great time to support farmers markets as well as enjoy some organically grown foods. We hope to see you all this week!
