Farmers’ Markets Begin Opening This Weekend; 2013 Maryland Farmers’ Market Listings Available Online

Photo by Edwin Remsberg

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The 2013 Maryland Farmers’ Market listings of locations and hours for each of the state’s markets is now available through the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) website. This year, some 131 markets will be open with at least one in every county and Baltimore City. This weekend marks the opening for some of the early markets in the state, including the Baltimore Farmers Market and Bazaar and the Anne Arundel County Market at Riva Road. To view the 2013 Farmers’ Market Directory, see:

A searchable database of farmers’ market locations, hours, and producer/vendor and product listings is available on the Maryland’s Best website.

“The best sign that spring is really here is the opening of Farmer’s Market and they begin opening this weekend,” said Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance. “Customers can enjoy some of the freshest and best tasting local products at Farmers Markets while directly supporting our family farmers. Every dollar spent on local agricultural products contributes to the economic health of the community, keeps our land in farming, and helps to support a smart, green and growing future for Maryland agriculture.”

Farmers’ markets have become increasingly popular as interest in purchasing fresh, local food and connecting directly with farmers who grow the food has risen. In 1991, there were only 20 markets; there were 88 in 2008; 128 last year; and there will be 131 this year. In its 2009 Policy Choices Survey, the University of Baltimore Schaefer Center for Public Policy found that 77 percent of Marylanders want to buy produce that is identified as having been grown by a Maryland farmer.

About 400 Maryland farmers will also participate in the farmers’ market nutrition program (FMNP) initiative which provides an additional source of income to farmers. More than $400,000 in checks will be available for eligible women, infants, and children (WIC – FMNP) through the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s local WIC offices and seniors (SFMNP) through the Maryland Department of Aging’s local senior centers to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, cut herbs and honey (for seniors only) at authorized farmers’ markets from June through November for the 2013 season. The program is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is administered by MDA in partnership with the Maryland Departments of Aging and Health and Mental Hygiene.

The print version of the 2013 Maryland Farmers’ Market Directory will be available in mid-May from MDA’s Marketing Division at 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway in Annapolis, 410-841-5770.

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