Happy Farmers Market Week!

The occasion, which has been observed for the last 21 years, celebrates the value that farmers markets provide. For decades, they have offered financial stability to family farmers and ranchers, fresh and healthy food for consumers, good jobs and local economic growth, and a strong sense of community.

This year, because of the pandemic, all of those services have become especially important – but farmers markets are facing significant challenges just to stay open. Ensuring that customers and vendors are safe as well as complying with shifting rules and regulations has proven expensive, time consuming, and confusing. In a blog post, several farmers market managers discuss their efforts to provide a safe place for farmers to sell their goods and for community members to buy fresh, healthy food — read more here.