farmers markets

Anne-Marie Nichols is a guest blogger for the DietsInReview.com special series on Healthy Summer Kids. Anne-Marie is a work-at-home professional blog wrangler and social media consultant. In real life she lives on Colorado’s Front Range with her husband and two children. Virtually you can find her at A Mama’s Rant, This Mama Cooks! On a Diet, and This Mama Cooks! Reviews, at several of the Mom Central blogs including Mom Central Food and Mom Central Goes Green, and on Twitter.

Summer’s the perfect time to inspire your family to eat more healthfully since seasonal produce is on sale and plentiful. It’s also an opportunity to get the kids involved in purchasing nutritious food. As a family, visit a farmer’s market or pick fruits and vegetables at a local farm. (LocalHarvest.org lists farmer’s markets and family farms by state or ZIP code.)

After you’ve shopped, get the kids into the kitchen to make frozen fruit popsicle treats.

Farmer’s markets are markets that allow customers to purchase locally grown, flavorful, farm-fresh, organic produce.  This type of market is great because it comes straight from the ground to your hands.  This type of market allows farmers to develop personal relationships with the buyers and the consumers can show their loyalty with the farmers.  The setup to the market varies, but typically it takes place once or twice a week at a designated public place.  Some markets even make it more of a social get-together by providing live entertainment.