National Farmers Market Week is celebrated each year during the first full week of August, but if you ask me, every week feels like Farmers Market Week at The Bridgeport Farmers and Makers Market. 

 

Every Sunday, I get a front-row seat! Although, there is not usually any sitting. Farmers arrive with produce they harvested just hours before the market opens. Bakers unload bread that is still hot from the oven. Makers spend the morning setting out products they have poured their time and talent into. Then our customers show up, grab a cup of coffee, catch up with friends, and spend the morning supporting all of them.

 

It's one of my favorite parts of the week.

 

Shopping at a farmers market is about much more than buying groceries. It's choosing to keep your dollars in our local food system and supporting the people who work incredibly hard to grow, raise, bake, and make the things we bring home to our families. Those dollars don't travel very far before they're invested back into our own community, and that's something worth celebrating all year long!

 

I love that you get to know the story behind your food when you shop at local markets. You can ask when the sweet corn was picked, how the tomatoes were grown, or what variety of peach they recommend. At BFM2, we believe in transparency, so whether a vendor grew it themselves or sourced it from another West Virginia farm, you know where it came from. That connection is so lovely. There's something refreshing about being able to have that conversation instead of simply grabbing food off a shelf.

I always look forward to seeing what happens once the market is over. So many of our customers share their market hauls, family dinners, and recipes on social media, and it is so much fun to watch. 

 

Those bags full of fresh produce become Sunday dinner. Fresh herbs get chopped into favorite recipes. Someone is probably slicing into a tomato they picked out just a few hours earlier. It sounds simple, but there's something really satisfying about knowing your meal started just a few miles from your kitchen.

 

I especially enjoy seeing kids at the market. They aren't just watching their parents shop. They're asking questions, picking out vegetables they may have never seen before, sampling fresh food, and meeting the people who grew it. When kids get to be part of that whole process, they're usually much more excited to help cook dinner... and sometimes they're even willing to try something new.

 

National Farmers Market Week is a chance to recognize the people who make local food possible, but it's also a reminder of why farmers markets matter. They connect us to our food, to our neighbors, and to the people who work hard every day to keep local agriculture alive.

At BFM2, we're incredibly grateful for our farmers, makers, volunteers, sponsors, and every person who chooses to spend their Sunday with us. You are what makes this market what it is.

 

So while the calendar says it's National Farmers Market Week, around here, that's really how every week feels. And I love getting to be a part of it!