Fresh veggies from the farmers market

There are only 30 days to go in America’s Favorite Farmers Markets™ contest. The Top 20 Favorite Farmers Markets in all four categories have just been unveiled and Tucson’s Santa Cruz River Farmers Market is on the list. Anything can happen in the next four weeks before the contest ends at midnight on August 31.

Your local farmers market needs your continued support so that it can get the recognition it deserves. It’s the only Arizona farmers market in the running in the Favorite category.

In June the Santa Cruz River Farmers Market moved to another location, this time at Mercado San Agustine.

However in the Arizona category, the Farmers Market at St. Phillip’s Plaza is in the #1 slot. Check it out and vote.

You can also request a free bumper sticker that says — No Farms, No Food. Put it on your car or bulletin board at work. Or distribute them at your local farmers market or event. When you display your No Farms No Food bumper sticker, you’re helping raise awareness about the importance of our local farms and ranches and the delicious, fresh foods they produce.

So. Ariz. grown produce

The Community Food Bank’s Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market will move to Mercado San Agustin on June 16, 2011. The market, which has gained national recognition for serving low-income communities in Tucson, is responding to an increase in vendors and the need for more space. Market hours will remain 4 to 7 pm on Thursdays.

The Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market is the largest and most well-established of the food bank’s six farmers’ markets in Tucson and accepts SNAP benefits (food stamp cards), WIC checks and AZ Farmers’ Market nutrition vouchers. The market began with eight vendors in 2005 and has grown to 18 to 22 vendors from all over Southern Arizona.

The new location will offer more parking, more vendor space, and more shelter from the elements. It will also allow shoppers to visit some of the newly opened small local businesses of the Mercado San Agustin that sell a variety of goods including pastries (from La Estrella Bakery), tacos and raspados.

The Mercado San Agustin is located at 100 S. Avenida del Convento, west of I-10 near the intersection of Congress and Grande in the Menlo Park neighborhood. It’s across the street from El Rio Community Health Center on bus routes 21 and 22. The grand opening is this weekend May 13-15.