U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has proclaimed Sunday through Saturday, Aug. 1-7, as National Farmers Market Week.
In celebration, the Historic Lewes Farmers Market will be celebrating its fifth birthday and the beginning of National Farmers Market Week Saturday, July 31, with a birthday cake made from natural and local ingredients. The birthday cake will be cut and shared at 10 a.m., and market organizers and some vendors will talk briefly about why farmers markets are so important to local communities.
“Farmers markets are good for you for health, good for your community and good for the economy,” said Stacy Miller, executive director of the Farmers Market Coalition, a nonprofit organization supporting farmers markets across the country. “During Farmers Market Week, we invite everyone to celebrate the freshest foods from America’s most entrepreneurial farmers by supporting their local farmers markets.”
The Historic Lewes Farmers Market, a producer-only community market, has more than 200 volunteers and a demonstration almost every week: Local chefs prepare healthy recipes, Master Gardeners discuss composting, and pollinator experts talk about bees and other pollinators. The market also partners with Lewes Public Library to sponsor the Children’s Reading Program.
For more information, visit historiclewesfarmersmarket.org.
Lewes market contributes substantially to local economy
This year marks the 11th annual National Farmers Market Week. Since the U.S. Department of Agriculture began declaring National Farmers Market Week in 2000, the number of farmers markets has almost doubled, from 2,863 markets in 2000 to 5,274 in 2009.
According to the department, the Historic Lewes Farmers Market is one of the approximately 6,000 in the country operating in 2010, and it is one of 14 in Delaware. The market currently has 39 vendors who sell a wide variety of products, including lamb, beef, fish, oysters, eggs, artisanal cheeses, milk, produce, plants, flowers, jams and more. Last year, the market generated $392,000 for the local producers.
Fast facts about Farmers markets
• The states with the most farmers markets are California, New York, Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Massachusetts, Ohio and Kentucky
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates farmers markets provide income opportunities for at least 150,000 direct-marketing farmers and food producers across the country
• It’s estimated that approximately $1.3 billion in direct farm-to-consumer sales occurred in farmers markets in 2009
• Farmers markets nationwide, including the Historic Lewes Farmers Market, donate hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh produce to local social-service agencies across the country each year
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