Article originally appears in the April 11, 2019 issue of the SNEB eCommunicator. 

As we head into spring it’s timely to take a look at farmers markets (FM). They’ve been around a long time in one form or another. Yet they have certainly evolved: from their location (senior centers), to products offered to how to pay (acceptance of SNAP/WIC  benefits and credit cards).

Overview/finding farmers markets
**Farmers Market Coalition: an overview
https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/education/qanda/

**National farmers market directory: find a market near you and other info
https://www.ams.usda.gov/local-food-directories/farmersmarkets

**10 reasons to support farmers markets: includes supporting farmers, learning where food comes from, getting new ideas about how to reward food and more!
https://cuesa.org/learn/10-reasons-support-farmers-markets

**Best farmers market in every state: according to Taste of Home
https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/best-farmers-markets/

The evolution of farmers markets
**Why are so many farmers markets failing?: in a word, success. There are a lot of FMs but are there enough farmers? In addition, now there are more ways to get food including online and CSAs (community-supported ag).
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/03/17/700715793/why-are-so-many-farmers-markets-failing-because-the-market-is-saturated

**5 ways America’s farmers markets have evolved: including use of technology and education such as cooking demos.
https://civileats.com/2015/08/05/5-ways-americas-farmers-markets-have-evolved/

Unique markets
**Unique farmers market draws customers: read about a Greenville, SC market and its criteria including foods grown w/in 100 miles
https://cfgrower.com/unique-farmers-market-model-draws-customers/

**This farmers market is part of a plan to reduce teen births: an Orlando, FL FM is run by teens
https://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/orlando-teen-program-fights-pregnancy-dropouts-crime-20190328

Urban farmers markets
**Managing small urban farmers markets: markets with 5 or fewer vendors come to some neighborhoods
https://www.iatp.org/documents/managing-small-urban-farmers-markets

**Inside the future of urban farmers markets: including using mobile pay and diverse locations such as subway stations
http://www.zipcar.com/ziptopia/futurecity/future-urban-farmer’s-markets

**Urban farmers markets: accessibility, offerings, and produce variety, quality and price compared to nearby stores: a cross-sectional look at urban FMs in the Bronx, NY finds they offered fewer kinds of produce, higher prices, more exotic/unusual items and less healthy products (refined/processed) compared to stores.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4410073/pdf/nihms668227.pdf

Schools as sites for farmers markets
**In-school farmers markets – setting up for success: what to consider if you are thinking about starting an in-school FM
https://articles.extension.org/pages/70377/in-school-farmers-markets-setting-up-for-success

**Starting a school farmers market: includes best practices and examples
https://kidsgardening.org/garden-how-to-school-farmers-market/