Farmer’s Markets Growth Impressive

As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, so too has the number of urban farmers markets sprouting up across the nation.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday that the number of direct-sales markets has increased 9.6 percent in the past year, with California and New York leading the way.  After 18 years of steady increases, the number of farmers markets across the country now registered with the USDA is 7,864. In 1994, there were 1,744.  Nine hundred of those markets operate during the winter months.  The USDA has worked to make the markets accessible to people of all income levels by outfitting more with the ability to accept payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. More than $4 million is being made available to equip markets with wireless point-of-sale equipment.  California, the country’s top agricultural producing state, has 827 markets, according to the USDA. New York has 647, more than double the next most prolific state, Massachusetts, which has 313.  The mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Southeast saw the biggest percentage growth in markets, reporting 15.8, 14.4 and 13.1 percent jumps in participation.  Even though the increase in farmer’s markets has been impressive, the number of farmer’s markets that are 100% organic are far and few between.  Organic farmers do participate, but there are quite a few that are involved with local buying co-ops in stead of traveling to local markets.