AHFM Farmers Market Guide makes it easier to find local markets, check schedules, explore locations, and learn which markets offer food-access programs, all in one convenient place.
Finding a farmers market shouldn’t be difficult. But finding accurate information can be.
Markets change locations, adjust operating seasons, and add special holiday or winter markets—and hours change, too. Payment options and food-access programs change. Meanwhile, information scattered across websites and social media pages can quickly become outdated.
Appalachian Highlands Farmers Magazine created the AHFM Farmers Market Guide to make that information easier to find and use.
The new Guide is now available on the AHFM website, giving readers an interactive way to find farmers markets throughout the Appalachian Highlands and beyond. Meanwhile, AHFM is preparing an Android version of the Guide for release through Google Play.
More Than a List of Farmers Markets
The AHFM Farmers Market Guide combines an interactive map with a searchable market directory.
Readers can explore markets geographically or browse individual listings for more information. They can also narrow the results to find markets that fit their schedules and needs.
For example, someone looking for a Saturday market can filter the results by operating day instead of opening individual listings one at a time. Other filters help readers narrow markets by geographic area and market type.
That becomes especially useful in a region where farmers markets range from large, established seasonal markets to smaller community markets, winter markets, and special events.
Finding Markets That Accept Food Benefits
The Guide also helps readers find markets that participate in food-access programs.
Depending on the individual market, those programs may include:
Rather than searching through individual market websites or social media pages, shoppers can use the Guide to narrow their search for markets that report accepting the benefits they use.
That information can make local food more accessible while also directing more purchases toward farmers and other local food producers.
We Check the Information
A farmers market directory is only useful if its information is reliable.
For that reason, AHFM continues to research and verify market listings. When possible, we check information against official sources and information supplied by market representatives. Listings also include verification information so readers can see when AHFM last checked the details.
However, farmers markets continually change. New markets open, others close, schedules shift, and programs change from season to season.
Therefore, the Guide will continue to grow and change with them.
Market managers, vendors, and readers can also help. If you know about a farmers market or community farm stand that should appear in the Guide, you can submit information for AHFM to review and add. We have included a button for Market managers, vendors, or attendees to let us know when we need to change, update, or correct the information.
Next Up: The AHFM Farmers Market Guide Android App
The website is only the first version of the project.
AHFM has also developed an AHFM Farmers Market Guide Android App, which is now moving through the testing and release process for Google Play.
The Android app brings the Guide to a mobile format for people searching for markets while traveling, shopping, or planning a weekend outing.
It will include the market directory, mapping, and search features of the web version while making the Guide easier to use on an Android phone.
We will announce the Google Play release as soon as the app becomes publicly available.
Explore the Farmers Market Guide
Whether you’re searching for a nearby Saturday market, trying to find a market that accepts SNAP/EBT, or looking for a farmers market while visiting another part of the region, the AHFM Farmers Market Guide gives you a new place to start.
Explore the AHFM Farmers Market Guide. Click here:
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