Celebrate National Farmers Market Week on Third Street South

In celebration of National Farmers Market Week Aug. 2-8, the Third Street South Farmers Market will go above and beyond the usual colorful assortment of produce and products available from 7:30-11:30 a.m.

Saturday, Aug. 1. Vendor gift baskets will be raffled off, and music and children's activities including pony rides, face painting and a special Third Street South coloring book will be part of the fun.

Since the USDA began declaring National Farmers Market Week in 2000, the number of farmers markets across the United States has grown more than 60 percent, from 2,863 markets in 2000 to 4,685 in 2008.

The Third Street South Farmers Market began in 1990 and now has 50 vendors every week who sell a wide variety of products, including fresh fruits and vegetables, pastas, sauces, pastries, jellies, jams, prepared foods, fresh fish, flowers and plants, herbs, soaps, dog treats and colorful weaved baskets.

"Farmers markets are good for everyone," says Stacy Miller, executive director of the Farmers Market Coalition, a nonprofit organization that supports farmers markets across the country. "They're good for your health, good for your community and good for the economy. Not to mention they offer the freshest foods from America's most entrepreneurial farmers and preserve our country's agricultural traditions."

Other facts about farmers markets:

• California, New York, Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Massachusetts, Ohio and Kentucky are the states with the most farmers markets.

• The USDA estimates there are an average of 31 vendors per farmers market, providing opportunities for more than 130,000 direct-marketing farmers across the country.

• The USDA's Agriculture Census reported more than $1.2 billion in direct farm-to-consumer sales in 2007, the majority of these at farmers markets.

• Farmers at farmers markets donate hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh produce to local social service agencies across the country each year.