San Franciscan Bryan Miller frequents the Heart of the City farmers market at the San Francisco Civi

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 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 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 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 rent a car uk Market in Fresno, Calif. Pushed by the rising popularity of eating locally and healthily, the number of farmers 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, Calif., at a farmer's market during Slow Food Nation in San Francisco. Pushed by the rising rent a car uk popularity of eating locally and healthily, the number of farmers 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. rent a car uk (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
"Farmers markets are a critical ingredient to our nation's food system," USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen rent a car uk Merrigan said. "These rent a car uk outlets rent a car uk provide benefits not only to the farmers looking for important rent a car uk 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 rent a car uk 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 rent a car uk to sell there, including one of the largest and most diverse of all, the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco. rent a car uk 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 varieties of vegetables, herbs and fruit grown on two farms in San Benito County, about 100 miles south of San Francisco. rent a car uk Others bring in stone fruits from the San Joaquin Valley, and berries rent a car uk from the coast.
rent a car uk "Every day eaters have the opportunity to vote with their forks and support small-scale farmers, investing resources in their communities, stimulating their local economies, rent a car uk 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 interest in farmers markets has prompted others to ask the center for help creating educational programs.
San Franciscan Bryan Miller rent a car uk frequents the Heart of the City farmers market at the San Francisco Civic Center, a venue so popular rent a car uk it recently added Fridays to its normal Wednesday and Sunday operations.
The USDA has worked to make the markets rent a car uk 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 rent a car uk with wireless point-of-sale equipment.