What are farmers’ markets?

What's the difference between these markets and any other?
A farmers' market is one in which farmers, growers or producers from a defined local area are present in person to sell their own produce, direct to the public.

The public can be confident of the origins of the foods, ask questions and get closer to the sources of local foods. The producers get valuable feed-back from customers. Farmers' markets are for all kinds of food producers and offer a low-cost entry point for many farmers who have not sold directly to the public before.

Farmers' markets are the embodiment of the availability of home-grown foods. They are the British farming industry's most high-profile shop.

The Kent Farmers' Market Association has been set up by the managers of Kent's farmers' markets. We all believe passionately that farmers' markets provide shoppers with higher quality, more nutritious, easily traceable, fresher local food and drink. They give Kent's farmers and small food enterprises the opportunity to sell directly to the public and so get a fair price for their products. They offer an increasingly rare chance for communities to get together. We provide outlets for products which respect both the environment and animal welfare. We help to reduce food miles.

Kent's farmers' markets offer local food in abundance. You'll find competitively priced fresh produce, and products you'll never see in the supermarkets. It is not just fresh fruit, vegetable and meat, but also bread, cheese, cakes, jams and chutneys. The stallholders can tell you where and how the products they sell were farmed or processed. By shopping there, you are helping to maintain the viability of local farmers. And farmers' markets are fun, with a chance to meet up with friends.