The Aiken County Farmers Market joins markets across the country in celebrating National Farmers Market Week from August 4-10, 2024. Farmers markets foster shared values between community members and farmers, which can help create a more fair and sustainable food system. This community focus has been most visible during recent times of crisis and uncertainty as market managers innovate to continue essential operations for the farmers and shoppers who depend on them.
National Farmers Market Week is an annual celebration of farmers markets proclaimed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and coordinated by the Farmers Market Coalition (FMC). This membership-based nonprofit organization supports farmers markets nationwide through training, technical assistance, and network-building. Each year, FMC’s National Farmers Market Week Campaign highlights the vital role farmers markets play within our nation’s local food systems. For more than fifty years, farmers markets have influenced how Americans eat, shop, and connect to their food, their farmers, and one another. Farmers’ markets are more than marketplaces; they are places where neighbors learn, grow, and work together.
The Aiken County Farmers Market in its current location began in 1954 and currently hosts 60 farmers and other vendors selling a wide variety of products, including fresh produce, baked goods, meat, and honey, along with handmade crafts. This year, we are celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the market on September 28. A schedule will be available in the coming weeks.
“We are very excited to celebrate such a milestone for the market. There are farmers who have been selling here for more than 40 years and have great stories we want to save. The market is not just a pillar of the community bringing people together, but a piece of living history we need to cherish and nurture”, says Eric Gordon, Tourism Manager for Parks Recreation and Tourism for the City of Aiken who oversees the market.
In the last 12 months, shoppers have made almost 24,000 visits to the Aiken County Farmers Market. Of those, about 10% are visitors to the area.
“Across the country, farmers markets are defining their role in our communities,” said Willa Sheikh, Executive Director of the Farmers Market Coalition. “Markets are designed in partnership with the people they serve and are a place where market operators, farmers, shoppers, and neighbors can collaborate to meet the evolving needs of their community. As we look to the future, farmers markets will play a key part, as they always have, in leading efforts to adapt, respond, innovate, and advocate for our local food systems. National Farmers Market Week is a chance to celebrate all the ways farmers markets show up for us!”
Source : cityofaikensc.gov