It's National Farmers Market Week, and that means it's time to fill up pantries with the freshest produce of the summer.
Currently, the Anderson Farmers Market has tables full of almost every available produce and fruit which is
grown locally. Tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, okra, peppers, onions, beans, corn, blueberries, peaches and bushels of other produce can be found at the market, along with local honey, crafts and more.
The Anderson Market is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 am. to 1 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Special holiday markets are also held during the Christmas Season.
The Anderson market has grown like summer squash since revising restrictive rules which hampered local farmers from selling at the market. Saturdays now feature live music and vendors spilling over under tents in the parking lot, and the crowds are continuing to grow.
"The farmers market offers our community healthy eating options, sustains local farmers while providing fresh, nutritious, homegrown," said Anderson County Councilman Tommy Dunn.
Founded in 2002, the Anderson County Farmers Market now hosts more than 30 spaces for farmers, gardeners and others to sell a wide variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, locally grown honey, flowers, and homemade crafts.
Farmers markets also serve as a kind of Miracle Grow for state and local economies. Growers who sell locally create 13 full-time jobs per $1 million in revenue. Those that do not sell locally create three. Farmers markets created between 257 and 361 full-time jobs in South Carolina last year.