By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN
Michigan Correspondent

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan ranks No. 4 in the nation for the most operational farmers’ markets, according to the 2010 National Farmers’ Market Directory recently released by the USDA.

With 271 operational markets, the state came in behind California, which claimed the top position with 580, followed by New York with 461 and Illinois with 286.

“Between 2008 and 2009, we saw a 13 percent increase in the number of farmers’ markets operating in the state,” said Gov. Jennifer Granholm. “Dollars spent at area farmers’ markets are more likely to stay in Michigan, benefiting local communities and strengthening our economy.”

Michigan Department of Agriculture Director Don Koivisto agreed. “Michigan’s farmers’ markets offer consumers fresh and locally grown and produced foods for their dining room table,” he said. “Buying locally also provides an opportunity to meet the people who feed us and learn how our food was grown and produced. Not to mention, the best tasting foods ripen closest to home.”

The city of Greenville hosts a farmers’ market on Tuesday and Friday mornings during the summer. Market masters Jon and Katie Town, who coordinate the vendors, bring a variety of their homegrown organic fresh fruits and vegetables to sell at their booth.

They said the farmers’ market “offers exposure and puts us in touch with people,” but it is about more than a place to sell their produce. “This is about families,” Katie Town said. “We see a lot of families coming in, shopping together and making healthy choices.

“Families make up a community. They are families supporting our family. I can’t even distinguish between customers and friends.”

While waiting on customers, Town explained the finer points of many of their offerings, including how to prolong the life of fresh basil and why summer radishes are “hot” as opposed to being “mild” in the spring.

The Towns, whose Greenville-area farm was established by their ancestors in 1854, said raising produce and selling it at the farmers’ market “is a lifestyle, not just a job. This is who we are. What we bring here to sell is what we are eating every day at home,” she said. “We support one another.”

Peggy Barber of Greenville started bringing her extra eggs to the farmers’ market in 2005.

“I had more eggs than I had customers coming to my house,” she said. “Then I started bringing overflow from my garden. I don’t plant anything that I wouldn’t use myself. Most of our produce is cheaper than what’s in the store and it’s better quality.” Barber also enjoys the friends she has made. “It’s fun,” she said.

Liz Alexander of Greenville said she started bringing excess produce from her garden to the farmers’ market about eight years ago. “I started selling here because I’ve always grown a garden,” she said. “It is about selling produce, but it’s also about meeting a lot of people you would not have otherwise met.”

In addition to offering people the opportunity to purchase fresh produce, markets add value to a community on other levels. “A healthy community is a happy community,” Town said. “In happy communities, we see less crime, too.”

In Michigan, 57 farmers’ markets also are authorized to accept Bridge Cards, including the Greenville market. This number has grown from 29 in 2009 through the efforts of the Michigan Farmers Market Food Assistance Partnership, led by the Michigan Food Policy Council (MFPC) and the Michigan Farmers’ Market Assoc. (MIFMA).

The partnership’s work and 2010 growth has been funded through a grant as part of the USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative. “This work supports our local economy and Michigan producers while increasing the accessibility to local and fresh food for our low-income families,” Granholm said. “Many fruits and vegetables can lose up to 50 percent of their nutrients in just five days’ time, so buying locally grown food not only tastes better but is a healthier choice.”

To find a full list of farmers’ markets in Michigan, visit the MIFMA website at www.mifma.org and click “Find a Farmers’ Market.” The USDA National Farmers’ Market Directory is also available online, at http://apps.ams.usda.gov/FarmersMarkets