A young boy looks over the fresh fruits and veggies with his mother at a farmers market in Mississippi. By listing their market in the National Farmers Market Directory, market managers open their market up new customers. Photo courtesy Natalie Maynor

Spring is in the air and it’s time to gear up for the outdoor market season. People are looking for fresh fruits, veggies and other goodies from their local farmers markets, and with a couple clicks of the mouse, the USDA National Farmers Market Directory makes the search easy. Read more »

Recently, Velma Lakins, our dedicated Manager for the USDA Farmers Market, joined thousands of other farmers markets around the country in updating her market listing for the 2011 National USDA Farmers Market Directory.  “It was so easy!” she said.  “In less than 10 minutes I was able to update our listing so that USDA employees, neighbors, and visitors can know when and where our market is open, and have it counted among the nation’s 6,100 plus farmers markets.  ”

Even though the USDA Farmers Market has been listed in previous USDA Farmers Market Directories, Velma needed to update her listing this year to take advantage of some of the Farmers Market Directory’s new fields.  For the first time, the USDA Farmers Market Directory will allow Market Managers, such as Velma, to indicate multiple locations for their markets.  In Velma’s case, the USDA Farmers Market actually has two locations during the year – in the parking lot at 12^th and Independence Aves NW, just steps away from the Smithsonian metro stop, operating between June – November, and inside the USDA’s South Building, at wing three, operating from December – May.  In addition to updating her locations, Velma was also able to specifically note that the USDA Farmers Market operates on government property (as opposed to a street, a church, a park or a school) and has extended its market season through May. Read more »

Screenshot of CNN showing the USDA Farmers Market Directory

As part of CNN’s week-long series “Eatrocracy: Mind, Body and Wallet,” the USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory is featured in a unique way to encourage consumers to use farmers markets as a source of fresh, local and healthy food.  The series showcases our database of more than 6,200 farmers markets currently listed in the USDA Farmers Market Directory with the social networking and geo-locating mobile application, Foursquare. The series debuted yesterday  and will continue to run through the week on CNN. We’re thrilled to see several “Healthy Eating Badge” check-ins already! Read more »