Detroit's Eastern Market. Photo by Nina Ignaczak.
Do you have a favorite farmers' market?
Mine is and always will be Detroit's Eastern Market. Walking through Eastern Market feels like stepping into the past while keeping one foot in the present. The market connects me to the city's history and that of my Sicilian immigrant family, produce peddlers and grocers and butchers who worked in and around the market since before I was born.
It's the scene of my happiest childhood memories—of Saturday morning visits with my dad and my sister, riding in a red metal wagon through the sheds, eventually being pushed out by watermelons and peaches and flowers.
I love Eastern Market for the people—it's a place where city residents and suburbanites mix and mingle freely and without reservation. And of course, I love it for the food—from old staples like
Rocky Peanut Company to newcomers like
Chez Chloe.
When I was growing up, if you wanted to visit a farmers' market, you had few options. These days that's all changed. With the rise of the local food movement, knowing where your food comes from is decidedly in vogue. And that's led to an explosion of farmers markets across the nation and in southeast Michigan.
According to the USDA, the number of farmers markets in the United States
has grown from 1,755 in 1994 to 8,144 in 2013, and Michigan is one of the leading states with 311 markets.
We mapped some of them here. By our count, you have 50 options in the Metro Detroit region to meet your local farmer.
Let us know in the comments if we missed any!
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