Farm Markets are for (Eco) Lovers

EDENS celebrates farmers markets that complete the authentic experience of our places. As vital community members, we salute you!

According to the Farmers Market Coalition, as an incubator of local businesses, farm markets are essential to community life:

• Peak freshness: More than 85% of farm-based vendors travel fewer than 50 miles to sell at a farmer’s markets (more than half travel less than 10 miles);
• Cost-effective: Farmers earn 90 cents on the dollar spent by shoppers at farmers markets (compared to 17.4 cents elsewhere);
• Keep it local: Your money stays within the community, preserving and creating local jobs;
• Accessibility: Most farmer’s markets accept Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition Program and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) vouchers, and some states offer additional locally initiated programs.

During COVID, farmers market managers quickly pivoted operations around public health protocols so that access to healthy, local, and eco-friendly food choices would continue uninterrupted. Not only did neighborhood markets survive the pandemic, many experienced renewed appreciation and continued to thrive as an essential service.

Farm Markets in our Communities

Summer is peak season for a bounty of farm-fresh food and with warmer, longer days comes extended market hours and unique ways to spend time together.

Beginning Sunday, June 5, Milk Lady Markets will host a weekly farmers market at Cabin John Village. Sustainably grown produce and responsibly raised meat and dairy products will be on offer 9 am – 1 pm, in addition to artisanal crafts and live music.

Every first and third Sunday, 11 am and 3 pm, Your Neighborhood Farmer’s Market Association (YNFMA) hosts a bi-monthly farmers market at Uptown Park. YNFMA is the largest certified farmers market in Texas, featuring fresh, healthy food from local farmers, producers, crafters and artisans.

Mosaic District’s farmers market on Sunday mornings is at the heart of this community, running year-round from 9 am – 2 pm, with a second weekly event on Thursday evenings from 3 pm-7pm, through October. Produced by FRESHFARM, a nonprofit that promotes sustainable agriculture and improves food access, education, and equity in the Mid-Atlantic region, the market features more than 40 local food producers.

South End Market at Atherton, operating year-round, supports farmers and producers offering local, sustainable and responsibly raised produce and proteins, as well as locally sourced artisanal food products and crafts. Saturdays, 8 am-1 pm.