"Farmers markets are a critical ingredient to our nation's food system," USDA Deputy Secretary Kathl

Workers at a farmers market get ready for afternoon customers in downtown Los Angeles on Friday Aug. 3,2012. As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, so too has the number of urban farmers markets sprouting up across the nation. (AP Photo/Ricahrd Vogel)
Workers at a farmers market best deals on car rentals get ready for afternoon customers in downtown Los Angeles on Friday Aug. 3,2012. As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, best deals on car rentals so too has the number of urban farmers markets sprouting up across the nation. (AP Photo/Ricahrd Vogel)
Workers at a farmers market get ready for afternoon customers in downtown Los Angeles on Friday Aug. 3,2012. As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, so too has the number of urban farmers markets sprouting up across the nation. (AP Photo/Ricahrd Vogel)
Customers shop at a downtown Los Angeles best deals on car rentals farmers market on Friday Aug. 3,2012. As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, so too has the number of urban farmers markets sprouting up across the nation. (AP Photo/Ricahrd Vogel)
FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2010, file photo, Ching Thao, of Mao's Farm, center, gives change to Richard Wolk, right, at the Vineyard Farmers Market in Fresno, Calif. Pushed by the rising popularity of eating locally and healthily, the number of farmers best deals on car rentals markets climbed by 9.6 per cent nationally over the past year, according to the USDA. There now are more than 7,800 markets in the U.S. after 18 years of steady increases, according to a report to be announced Friday. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian, File)
File - In this Aug. 29, 2008, file photo, Benina Burroughs of Merced, Calif., looks over a display of cherry tomatoes by Farmers with ALBA from Salinas, best deals on car rentals Calif., at a farmer's market during Slow Food Nation in San Francisco. Pushed by the rising best deals on car rentals popularity of eating locally and healthily, the number of farmers markets climbed by 9.6 per cent nationally over the past year, according best deals on car rentals to the USDA. There now are more than 7,800 markets in the U.S. after 18 years of steady increases, according to a report to be announced Friday. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
"Farmers markets are a critical ingredient to our nation's food system," USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said. "These outlets provide benefits not only to the farmers looking for important income opportunities, but also to the communities looking for fresh, healthy foods."
"My husband and I prefer to eat locally and organically," said Tracy Stuntz, a college instructor who shops at the Vineyard Farmer's Market in Fresno. "You go to the grocery store and everything is the same. The farmer's market has yellow zucchini and green onions that are like a foot long ? produce you don't see other places."
Some markets are so popular that there are wait lists for farmers to sell there, including one of the largest and most diverse of all, the Ferry Plaza Farmers best deals on car rentals Market in San Francisco. Farmers from across the region travel there three days a week to sell fruits, vegetables and artisan breads and cheeses to thousands of shoppers, including top chefs from the food-centric city.
Grant Brians of Heirloom Organic Gardens sells more than 200 old-fashioned best deals on car rentals varieties of vegetables, herbs and fruit grown on two farms in San Benito County, about 100 miles south of San Francisco. Others bring in stone fruits from the San Joaquin Valley, and berries from the coast.
"Every day eaters have the opportunity to vote with their forks and support small-scale best deals on car rentals farmers, investing resources in their communities, best deals on car rentals stimulating their local economies, best deals on car rentals and keeping ag land in sustainable production," he said.
The center uses the markets to educate consumers about unique varieties of produce and how to prepare them. Stockdale said the growing best deals on car rentals interest in farmers markets has prompted others to ask the center for help creating educational programs.
San Franciscan Bryan Miller frequents the Heart of the City farmers market at the San Francisco Civic Center, a venue so popular it recently best deals on car rentals added Fridays to its normal best deals on car rentals Wednesday and Sunday operations.
The USDA has worked to make the markets accessible to people of all income levels by outfitting more with the ability to accept payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. More than $4 million is being made available to equip markets with wireless point-of-sale equipment.