Good crop of farmers' markets

By Nicola Shepherd

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ARE we at last witnessing�a threat to the might of the supermarket superstore

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These�are the cognoscenti who get up early to catch the best produce at their local farmer's market. This is a phenomenon imported from the US in 1998, when the first market opened in the UK in Bath.

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Now over a 100 farmers' markets are held regularly across the UK, where local farmers, food producers and craftmen come together to sell their wares in an open-air town centre. Goods on sale include freshly-grown, locally-produced fruit, vegetables, honey and cheeses, as well as meat and other home-made products.

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All�produce sold at a�farmers' market��has to be grown within a perdetermined geographical radius. This is to ensure that it is strictly local, and hasn't added to environmental pollution by travelling hundreds of miles to its customers.

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While not always organic, some produce is pesticide-free and, because the farmer is the one doing the selling direct to the customer, he or she can be quizzed about what has been used 'to bring on�the veg.'

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Such direct selling circumvents the normal distribution channels and food is, therefore, often considerably cheaper, not least because it is all in season.

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If you are�concerned�about becoming alienated from the year's natural rhythm because out of season foods are now imported from all over the world, farmers' markets�are the answer.

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You'll also find unusual varieties of fruits, such as apples and pears, lost from the supermarket shelves, because they are deemed uneconomic to produce. The scale and reach of the farmers' markets makes growing and selling delightful-sounding apples such as Bloody Ploughman's,� Ashmead's Kernel,� Blenheim Orange and Green Custard, viable.

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The success of the farmers' markets begs some questions. Could we actually live without one-stop shopping, value lines,�BOGOF (buy one get one free) promotions and the warm glow that comes with adding points to�our loyalty cards

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To locate your nearest farmers' market,�click here.

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