The Popularity of Farmer’s Markets Surges

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.

Organizations such as Slow Food, founded in 1989 to counter fast-food, junk-food lifestyles, first ignited con­sumer demand for fresh, local produce.

“My hus­band and I pre­fer to eat locally and organ­i­cally,” said Tracy Stuntz, a col­lege instruc­tor who shops at Fresno’s Vineyard Farmer’s Market. “You go to the gro­cery store and every­thing is the same. The farmer’s mar­ket has yel­low zuc­chini and green onions that are like a foot long. Produce you don’t see other places.”

Today, some mar­kets are so pop­u­lar that there are wait lists for farm­ers to sell there, includ­ing one of the largest and most diverse of all, the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco. Farmers from across the region travel there three days a week to sell fruits, veg­eta­bles and arti­san breads and cheeses to thou­sands of shop­pers, includ­ing top chefs from the food-centric city.

Operated by the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture, the iconic mar­ket on the San Francisco Bay is cel­e­brat­ing its 20th birthday.

“When we started there were only three mar­kets in the city, and now there are 29,” said Liz Hunt, a cen­ter spokeswoman.

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