Aug 13 min read

How Farmer's Markets Can Be "4 The Soil"

Amy's Garden is a USDA Certified Organic family farm growing 10 acres of organic produce and cut flowers in Charles City County, Virginia. Photo by Virginia Cooperative Extension.

Let's celebrate National Farmers Market Week during the first week of August! When we support local businesses and growers who manage healthy soils, we help support local soil health.

Shopping locally can help our ecological footprint, keeping our local air and waterways clean. Farmers markets also offer a space to have conversations with a variety of soil health managers, like vegetable farmers and cattle ranchers.

John Montgomery, assistant manager of the Dorey Park Farmers Market, describes how farmers markets spark curiosity in shoppers.

"People come there with an open mind about buying local, supporting local, so it’s an almost automatic connection to say, 'Okay, what effect is it having locally?'" said Montgomery. "If you are going to support your local farmer, why? One of the reasons why is because they do practices that keep the local soil and the local air and the whole area more healthy and healthful for others."

He observed that these questions have lead some shoppers to reflect on their own influence on soil health, particularly with lawn care.

"It's kind of educating by accident,” said Montgomery.

The Dorey Park Farmers Market in Henrico, Virginia hosts programs like the Virginia Fresh Match, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Power of Produce, and a Second Saturday Concert Series.

Farmers markets are a hub of connections. Shoppers can connect directly to local growers – typically growers run their businesses within 400 miles of the market.

Carrots, radishes, and turnips at a farmers market stand in the Shenandoah Valley. Photo by Eric Bendfelt.

In his early twenties, Duron Chavis, community activist, urban farmer, and executive director of The Happily Natural Day, saw these connections while working at a farmers market. "We talked a lot about the importance of farming and how to farm," he said.

Chavis began his interdisciplinary and intersectional work by looking for strategies "to address…systemic issues around health in the Black community." He started to find solutions at the farmers market. "It was through that lens that I got involved with the farmers markets, we were connecting those farmers to formally red-lined neighborhoods in our community."

Watching the older generation of farmers work hard for their neighbors inspired Chavis. "I felt like it was really time for us to start getting our hands dirty," he said.

If you are not a producer, you can still help energize the soil with diversity by enjoying different seasonal eats. Supporting the 4 core soil health principles can look like shopping from a wide range of producers who implement healthy soil practices.

Beets and root vegetables at a farmers market stand in the Shenandoah Valley. Photo by Eric Bendfelt.

When we focus on our surroundings, we become aware of what impacts our communities. Soil health not only impacts our food, but also our airways, waterways, environment, and creatures living above and below the soil.

Shopping at farmers markets can help support local soil health, local businesses, and community resilience. To find a Virginia farmers market near you, check out the Virginia Farmers Market Association's Find a Market map.

We can all be #4TheSoil, for the farmers' markets!

Do you know a farmers market or vendor who is a soil health champion or voice in your community? Nominate them to be featured on the 4 The Soil blog! Email Mary Sketch-Bryant, Director of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, at msketch2@vt.edu for details.