Who Benefits?

By shopping at your local farmer's market, we all do. But let's be specific.

Consumers have access to locally grown, farm-fresh produce or dairy products and the opportunity to personally interact with the farmer or producer. No one knows an agricultural product better than the farmer that grew it or produced it. When purchasing meat, vegetables or dairy products elsewhere, the consumer seldom knows where they came from or how they were produced. Dairy products taste much better when cows are grass fed rather than fed corn in a feed lot. Heirloom tomatoes taste like tomatoes should taste like, rather than some of the new hybrid tomatoes created for long shelf life. At the market, ask the farmer about his farm.

Farmers have direct access to markets to supplement farm income. By selling their products through middlemen (wholesalers to distributors to grocers), their income can be cut by up to 90%. The increased fuel costs have raised their costs to plant, harvest and deliver their products to the wholesalers. With wholesalers and distributors raising their prices through fuel surcharges, farmers are not always able to recover the increases. By selling their products locally and directly to consumers, farmers are able to make a profit AND deliver a fresher product.

The local community benefits as the dollars spent on produce are now being kept in the community. Profits are no longer being sent to a corporate headquarters, potentially in another state.

Your local farmer's market is a non-profit entity connecting farmers and consumers, as well as promoting nutrition education, wholesome eating habits and better food preparation. As an added benefit, any extra, unsold produce provided by the farmers is given to local food pantries.