Shop at Farmers' Markets, Tailgate Markets and Roadside Stands

North Carolina is home to more than 200 farmers' markets and tailgate markets, and the number grows every season. Growth in these direct markets has been phenomenal in North Carolina, following a national trend.

There are advantages for both consumers and growers. Buying directly from farmers allows consumers to put a face with the products they are buying and ask questions of their grower. Buying direct pays full retail price to the farmer and provides consumers with the freshest produce at the peak of harvest.

This N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services page, NCDA&CS' Certified Roadside Stands,  allows consumers to find roadside farm product stands participating in the Certified Roadside Farm Market Program, which promotes North Carolina roadside markets that sell produce grown by the operator and other local farmers.

To ensure that your direct markets are selling the local foods you seek, talk with vendors about where their products originate.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that North Carolinians spend $350 billion on food. If North Carolinians spent just 10 percent of their food dollars on local foods every year, it would be worth $3.5 billion in the local economy, part of which would flow back to farmers and food businesses.

Many web-based resources can help you find farmers' markets near your home. These are a few that may benefit North Carolina consumers.

Websites

N.C. Department of Agriculture &Consumer Services' Farm Fresh: Allows consumers to find markets sorted by name or by county.

LocalHarvest: Allows consumers to find markets, and other local food resources, by entering a city or ZIP code.

Food Routes: Allows consumers to sort by ZIP code or city.

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association: Helps consumers search for local food resources in North Carolina by name, city or ZIP.

Regional partners

These websites link consumers to local food resources for a given region of the state.

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project: Focuses on western North Carolina counties, but has a great product finder tool.

Foothills Fresh: Six-county program in southwestern North Carolina, featuring farmers' markets, products, pick-your-own operations and agritourism.

Feast on the Southeast: Eight-county program in southeastern North Carolina, promoting local food resources through county-specific pages and a farm-to-chef guide.