Attending a Farmers Market is a real day out for all the family – there’s an enormous range of produce to buy, lots to look at and food samples to taste.

Farmers Markets give you the opportunity to talk to farmers and ask them questions about the food/prudcts they are selling – how it is grown or made, where it is grown or made, when was it picked?

There are no middlemen involved in farmers markets – all the produce at the farmers markets is sold to you direct by the people who either grew, reared, caught, brewed, pickled, baked, smoked or processed the produce.

The added incentive to shop at a Farmers Market is quality of the service. The producers are expects on their own produce, offering information on ingredients and advise on the best way to cook and serve the produce. They can even suggest some recipes to try!

But remember, all produce is grown locally, grown and harvested in season, so don’t expect strawberries in December.

Why are there less stalls at the Farmers Market some months?

It’s obvious when you think about it, but if you’re buying fresh local food you have to keep an eye on the seasons. Fruit and vegetables in particular are seasonal. So is some meat, like lamb for instance, although beef and pork are available pretty much all year round.

Over the past 20 years we’ve all been confused by the supermarkets that buy food from all round the world. Apples are always in season somewhere and they’re always in your local superstore.

In England they’re mainly an autumn fruit and that’s when you’ll find them at a Farmers Market.

There are a range of ways growers extend the seasons by using glass houses or polytunnels to protect from colder weather or using uncommon varieties or unusual crops.