Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the reopening of the USDA Farmers Market for its 25th market season. The annual Friday market will reopen on Friday, May 6, 2022, and run through Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. The market will be open from 9 a.m. EDT to 2 p.m. EDT on Fridays.
“The reopening of the USDA’s Farmer’s market for its 25th market season is an opportunity to celebrate the important role that farmers markets continue to play in meeting the growing demand for local fresh and healthy food produced by local farmers, ranchers and processors,” said Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jewel Bronaugh.
“The USDA Farmers Market provides an opportunity to highlight the agricultural diversity of the Chesapeake Bay region and serves as a showcase for the importance of creating more and better markets for local food and building community where we work and live,” said Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “We are excited to welcome new vendors, as well as past favorites, to the reopening of our market.”
Located outside the USDA Headquarters in Washington, DC, the market serves as the Department’s own “living laboratory” for farmers market operations across the country. The USDA Farmers Market supports the local economy, increases marketing opportunities for farmers and small businesses, provides access to an assortment of local and regional sourced products, and increases access to healthy, affordable fresh food in D.C.’s Ward 2.
The USDA Farmers Market promotes the incorporation of healthy fresh produce in consumers food choices through its unique educational style program, VegU. The commodity centered education program partners with USDA Research and Promotion Boards to market and promote the consumption of commodities through short educational sessions and in-market recipe demonstrations.
Since 1995, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has operated the USDA Farmers Market. AMS works to improve marketing opportunities for producers across the country through the combination of research, technical assistance, and grants. Each year, AMS helps hundreds of agricultural food businesses enhance their local food marketing efforts, including farmers markets, food hubs, wholesale markets, retailers, State agencies, community planning organizations, and other agri-food focused groups, enhance their local food marketing efforts.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America.
Source : usda.gov