Summer is in full swing and locals are enjoying the fresh fruit and vegetables sold at the Fairfax Farmers' Market. But is it the best market in the nation?
A national contest is underway now, and the winner will be determined by voters.
American Farmland Trust, a non-profit group focused on conserving agricultural land, is running its fourth annual America's Favorite Farmers Markets contest this summer.
The contest asks shoppers to vote for the farmers market they like best from a list of more than 7,000 provided by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
The description for the Fairfax market says "What the Fairfax Farmers Market lacks in size it makes up for in charm." Do you agree?
Other Marin markets, including San Rafael's Civic Center and Fourth Street Farmers Markets, are on the list. But San Anselmo's didn't appear to have made the cut.
Voting ends at midnight on Sept. 3 and winners will be chosen in each of four categories: small, medium, mid-size and large. American Farmland Trust will throw a party for each of the winning markets.
There's also an essay contest in which farmers can write about why participating in markets is important to them, for a chance to win $1,000.
So how about it? Should cities nationwide bow to our farmers market excellence, or what? Click here to vote, and share your thoughts in the comments.
What’s your favorite thing about the Fairfax Farmers Market?
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I'm sure it's nice for the breeders to have someplace to let their kids run around, but the result acts as a repellant to me. Kids screaming, kids running, kids stepping on bare toes, kids in the way? No thanks, I'll go to one of the other markets.
What I can say, is that the famer’s market provides a meeting place for people, including kids, to meet other folks in our community. Additionally, it provides a way for relatively local farmers to sell their goods directly instead of selling to produce brokers. What I notice is that community is getting more and more fragmented since the advent of technology. People are not relating face to face as much as they used to prior to internet social networks. Even the coffeehouses have folks sitting engaged in their computer screens rather than talking with one another. So I’m all for the farmer’s market.