Farmers' market

[5] They are distinguished from public markets, which are generally housed in permanent structures, open year-round, and offer a variety of non-farmer/non-producer vendors, packaged foods and non-food products.

So where distance strained industrial suppliers' reach, where consumers had strong preference for local variety, farmers' markets remained competitive with other forms of food retail.

At the market, farmers can retain the full premium for part of their produce, instead of only a processor's wholesale price for the entire lot.

However, other economists say "there are relatively few benefits in terms of energy efficiency, quality or cost ... fun though they are, are not good economic models.

One method noted by the special interest group Food Empowerment Project promotes community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs).

Because of its critical role in ensuring urban food security, wet markets receive various supports from the local government.

[17] After 2010, farmers' markets in China were reborn in some major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu amidst the food safety crisis.

[18] The EU has formalized efforts to expand farmers' markets to reduce food safety risks and poor nutrition through programs known as "Farm to Fork".

[19] Farm-to-fork was developed with three main goals within the EU: Since the first farmers' market was established in the UK in 1997, the number has grown to over 550 nationwide.

The emergence of books, magazine articles, and cookery and gardening programmes influence consumer concern of food preparation and consumption.

[29] In some cases, fraudulent farmers' markets sell regular grocery store vegetables, passing them off as organic or locally grown, to which are usually sold to unsuspecting tourists.

Farmers' markets also may supply buyers from produce stands, restaurants, and garden stores with fresh fruits and vegetables, plants, seedlings and nursery stock, honey, and other agricultural products.

Although this is on the decline, in part due to the growth of chain stores that desire national distribution networks and cheap wholesales prices—prices driven down by the low cost of imported produce.

[31] Since government inspected slaughterhouses purchase livestock for slaughter, many often have the facilities, equipment, and personnel to supply meat products to distributors/wholesalers.

Like restaurants, such arrangements are popular with farmers' market vendors because they allow them to avoid the overhead costs (facility, equipment, knowledge, maintenance, food safety inspections, etc.)

Reselling allows vendors to minimize investment and overhead costs by purchasing their products from a commercial slaughterhouse and/or processing plant.

Conversely, meat products being sold at farmers' markets that are prepared and packaged by the selling vendor will not include a "distributed by/packed for", or similar, statement.

[36] Unprocessed meat (retail cut) products found at farmers' markets may include a government inspection legend plus a "distributed by/packed for/prepared for" label.

In such cases the vendor/butcher gets the carcass or other major cuts of meat from a government inspected slaughterhouse and does the secondary butchering ("fabrication"), packaging, and labeling in its own facility.

Most processed meat products (sausage, bacon, hot dogs, frankfurters, snack sticks) sold at farmers' markets have labels that include a "distributed by/packed for/etc."

The inspection legend will usually have an Establishment Number (EST #) that identifies the processing plant that made and packaged the product.

The term "local" is defined by the farmers' market and usually represents products grown within a given radius measured in miles or kilometers.

There are four subject areas that consumers tend to consider when purchasing food directly from the producer: All vegetables and fruits have unique names that distinguish them from any other, whether they are for commercial use, for home gardening, or heirloom.

[51][52] Some investigations in the United States and Canada have found shops in farmers markets selling fruits and vegetables not sourced from their own farms.

Federal regulations in the United States require country of origin labeling for produce at supermarkets but not for small independent vendors.

In the United States, the FDA requires that the manufacturer's name and address be listed on the food label, which can reveal this discrepancy.