Food & Drink 

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Finding a farmers market

A visit to a farmers’ market supports local farmers and helps the environment by cutting down on food miles. What’s more, it’s a good source of fresh seasonal produce and, says Susie Chance, it’s great fun

Colourful, vibrant, fresh food markets – or farmers’ markets as they are known – are thriving from one corner of the country to another. There has been a remarkable renaissance of the traditional food market – from the first one in Bath in Autumn 1997, to hundreds today.

A stroll round a bustling farmers market reveals a mouthwatering display of fresh fruit and veg, eggs and dairy produce, meat and poultry, and home-made bread, cakes, honey and preserves. Precisely what’s for sale varies with the seasons and the market’s location, but one thing you can be sure of is its freshness and quality, locally produced - sold direct from the farm to the public. And the great thing is that everyone stands to benefit – stallholders, customers, the environment and the local community.

’I’m a big fan of our local market,’ says Kim Clark from Bristol. ‘I buy there because it means I know exactly where my food has come from and who is selling it,' she says. 'The food is always fresh, the prices very reasonable and often you can try before you buy. And it’s fun. I bump into friends and chat to stallholders – and end up being there far too long!’

The stallholders range from local traditional farmers to small family and speciality producers who don’t produce enough to sell to large supermarkets. To become a stallholder they must come from a defined local area, and they or their families or key workers must be at the market to sell in person. Although not exclusively organic, many sell food that is either organic, ‘in conversion’, or that has been produced with a minimum of pesticides. The markets give them the opportunity to explain to the public exactly what this means and how their food has been produced. And the public in turn can ask questions and give valuable feedback to the stallholder.

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