August is, among other observations Farmers Market Month in SC
August seems like a ‘holding-period’ month. Waiting for school to start back. Waiting for college football to start. Waiting for opening day of dove season. But while you’re waiting, there’s plenty to celebrate in August. Here’s a few observations celebrated in August, according to FamilyCrafts.com:
National Catfish Month (doesn’t need an ‘r’ in the month like oysters)
National Golf Month (I thought that was almost every month in SC)
National Inventors Month (wonder if they just made that up)
National Clown Week – missed that one the 1st week
National Elvis Week – missed that too the 2nd week
National Air Conditioning Appreciation Week—3rd week—should be all summer!
But here in South Carolina, August is Farmers Market Month. The month-long observation is an extension of National Farmers Market Week which was August 1-7.
There are more than 100 community-based markets across our state, which is about twice the number five years ago. Each market is unique in its own way. The character of a local market is often based on the characters who sell and the characters who shop at each one.
The market in Walhalla is a different experience from the market in Mt. Pleasant or Conway. Some markets operate on Wednesdays or Thursdays and offer customers a chance to stop by on their way home from work while some are open on Saturdays to give people a chance to spend some time listening to music and watching local artisans create artwork for sale.
But the one thing they all have in common is that the market itself can become a gathering place to meet with old friends or make some new ones. One of our newer, very popular markets in the Pee Dee area has an appropriate slogan, ‘Good Veggies and Good Gossip’. It’s great to see parents bring their children to learn that food doesn’t magically appear in the marketplace; rather it comes from hard work from some very dedicated people. One of the greatest things about farmers markets is seeing people who aren't normally engaged in agriculture getting connected to their food by meeting the folks who grew it.
Farmers markets allow consumers to have access to locally grown, fresh from the farm produce and products. Direct marketing of farm products through farmers markets continues to be an important sales outlet for agricultural producers throughout the state and nation. On average, for every $1.00 spent on traditional food purchases, about 16 to 18 cents makes it back to the farmer. Selling at a farmers market gives a greater share to the producer. The farmer and consumer both come out as winners!
