Farmers Markets

I was heading into Grand Junction, Colorado, to sit in on a meeting of the Mesa County Planning Commission. I thought I'd arrive early so I could get something to eat. As I was entering downtown, I could see that the streets up ahead were packed with people. So I found a parking spot, and waded into the crowd.

I had happened on the start of the weekly Thursday evening farmers market. Five blocks of downtown Grand Junction were lined with vendors, kids, seniors, buyers, sellers, teens, and people -- like me -- just enjoying the scene.

This was the third farmers market I had connected with during my trip -- though I also saw the location of other farmers markets on their off days (and the day I left Burlington to head down to Ocean City, Maryland, we had our own farmers market).

Farmers markets not only benefit local food growers, but they're great community events -- especially when held in downtowns or town centers. In fact, a few years ago, we published an article by Roberta Gratz about the benefits farmers markets can bring.

Here are a few photos I snapped while walking about the Grand Junction downtown farmers market.

Since I was pretty certain I'd be coming across some farmers markets during my travels, before I left Burlington, Vermont, I spoke with Richard McCarthy, President of the national Farmers Market Coalition about farmers markets and their role in communities. You can listen to the audio (approximately 15 minutes).

• to listen to the conversation [press blue arrow to play; click link to download]
• access this conversation on our podcast page