The 21st Annual National Farmers Market Week (NFMW) kicked off Sunday, Aug. 1. The week is meant to highlight the essential role that farmers markets play in our food system and celebrate the resilience and safety of farmers markets during the pandemic, according to the Farmers Market Coalition.
The week of celebration runs through the first week of August every year and is formally announced by a USDA proclamation.
This year, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Pearl Street Farmers Market in Denver to commence the week-long campaign.
Vilsack's proclamation discussed the role farmers markets play in federal nutrition programs and in supporting minority and family farms.
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The Farmers Market Coalition says that 2021 NFMW is focused on three main messages: Farmers markets are essential businesses and their short supply chains provide resiliency for food systems; farmers market operators are local food heroes, but they have been left out of many food system relief efforts; and farmers markets offer safe outdoor spaces that allow shopping with air circulation and social distancing.
The sponsors of this year’s NFMW are Square, Farm Credit Council, American Farmland Trust, the Food Liability Insurance Program, and the Farm Board.
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