If you believe that flavor and goodness is more important than visual appeal then you'll know the difference in taste and health between produce from local smallholders and farmers, and produce mass-farmed and harvested prematurely for gleaming display in supermarkets whose shareholder's needs are paid more attention to than the consumer's.

All across Europe, local housewives have shopped daily in farmers' produce markets for centuries. They understand the importance of flavor and seasonality and supporting their local community.

We need to support local farmers if we want to demonstrate to supermarkets the kind of respect for flavor we expect them to offer. At local farmers' markets, you're likely to find that small producers are also farming organically. Which means perhaps not just more flavor in their produce but certainly better health. 

Farmers' markets flourish between spring and fall all over Washington and in the surrounding suburbs and countryside. One of the most central, open year round, is the Dupont Farmers Market at Dupont Circle. For a list of where to find others, scroll down this page, or click http://www.farmerlink.com. Or order a back copy of the Washington Post's annual listing which comes out at the beginning of May.

The government listing, at http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/states/dc.htm, has been vastly improved. It had been deplorably incomplete but it's far more comprehensive now.

One market well worth a visit for being a down-to-earth, no-pretensions market, full of traditional southern produce, collard greens, pork hocks and more, as well as a wide of range of general fruit and vegetables, racks of clothes and vast bric-a-brac area, is held from spring to late fall on Thursdays and Saturdays in the parking lot at RFK Stadium. Follow the DC Farmers Market signs along Massachusetts or Independence Aves SE to Benning Road and Oklahoma Ave NW and Parking Lot 7. Few of the producers are organic, however.

Local Harvest is an on-line directory of small producers, sustainable food sources, farmers' markets. If you want to discover a source for locally-raised organic eggs, vegetables, meat and chickens, just type in your zip code and up will pop a list.

Capital Area Farmers' Markets

Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market, 20th and Q streets NW. Sunday mornings, year-round

Foggy Bottom FreshFarm Market, Street between New Hampshire Avenue and 24th Street NW, Wednesday afternoons. April - mid-November.

Penn Quarter FreshFarm Market, 8th and D streets NW. Thursday afternoons, April - November.

Mount Pleasant Local Food Market, 17th and Lamont Streets NW. Saturday mornings, May - mid-November.

Adams Morgan Farmers Market, Columbia Road and 18th Street NW. Saturday mornings, May - December.

14th and U streets NW, Saturday mornings, June - November.

Bloomingdale Farmers Market, First and R streets NW. Sunday mornings, mid-June - November.

Brookland Farmers Market, 12th and Newton Streets NE. Sunday mornings, May - October.

Brookland Farmers Market, 10th and Otis streets NE, Tuesday mornings, May - October.

Riverside Cafe Farm Stand, 601 Division Avenue. NE. Saturday mornings, mid-May - October. 

H Street FreshFarm Market, 600  H Street NE, Saturday mornings, May - October.

Eastern Market, 225 Seventh St. SE. Saturdays year-round.

Ward 8 Farmers Market, Martin Luther King Jr. and Alabama Avenues SE. Saturday mornings, June - mid-November.

Anacostia Farmers Market, 14th Street SE, between U and V Streets SE. Wednesday afternoons, May - November.

USDA Farmers Market, 400 Seventh Street SW, Tuesday mornings mid-May - July. From July - November, Tuesday mornings, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.

New Morning Farmers Market, Sheridan School parking lot, 36th Street and Alton Place NW. Saturday mornings June - mid-March, Tuesday mornings June - September.

Chevy Chase Farmers Market, Lafayette School parking lot, 701 Broad Branch Rd. Saturday mornings, April - November.

Related Information...

Nora Pouillon - Owner-chef of Restaurant Nora

Posted on Sunday 11th May 2008 in Americas & Caribbean, France, Ingredients, Markets