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The USDA has proclaimed this week to be National Farmers Market Week. (read the proclamation here) and for good reason!

Farmers markets and other forms of direct to consumer agriculture total about $1.2 billion per year.  That’s a pretty big bushel of apples!

Here are some more facts about Farmers Markets:

• There are over 7,175Farmers Markets in the United States.
• The demand for Farmers Markets is growing and so is the supply, the number of markets grew 17% over last year.
• There are over 40 Farmers Markets located in the Phoenix, Tucson, Arizona area.
• You can find a list of Arizona Farmers Markets on the Arizona Farm Bureau website:  Farmers Markets in Arizona
• There are over 900 Farmers Markets that are open in the winter time in the following states: The top 11 states for these markets are: New York (153), California (140), North Carolina (53), Florida (45), Pennsylvania (42), Ohio (34), Massachusetts (32), Kentucky (30), New Jersey (24), Connecticut (20), and Michigan (2).  Farmers markets are considered winter farmers markets if they operate between November and March.  (Don’t know why they don’t list Arizona as one of the top 10, maybe because some of ours operate year ’round?)
• You can find a searchable map of all of the Farmers Markets in the US on the USDA website:  National Map of Farmers Markets
• 12% of Farmers Markets accept food stamps.

The top 10 US states with Farmers Markets are:

1.  California (729 markets)
2. New York (520)
3. Michigan (349)
4. Illinois (305)
5. Ohio (278)
6. Pennsylvania (266)
7. Massachusetts (255)
8. Iowa (237)
9. Wisconsin (231)
10. North Carolina (217)

So find an Arizona Farmer’s Market and and celebrate National Farmers’ Market Week.  There’s a Farmers Market almost every day of the week!  Enjoy!!

Your turn:  What are some of your favorite Farmers Markets in Arizona?

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