Stop By The Farm

NC Farmers Markets

Fresh-off-the-farm produce. Home-baked pastries. Handmade crafts. If items like these are your idea of a great shopping list, then you need to make a visit to a North Carolina Farmers Market.

Salisbury Farmer's Market

NC has five farmers markets that are owned by the state and operated by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Each is strategically located to serve North Carolina farmers in all regions of the state, providing modern, well-maintained facilities in prime locations convenient to both sellers and buyers. Here’s a quick look at each of them:

Western North Carolina Farmers Market
570 Brevard Road
Asheville, NC 28806
(828) 253-1691
Close to downtown Asheville and two major interstates, this 36-acre market provides visitors with a cornucopia of produce and other goods from Western NC, as well as a stunning view of the mountains and the Biltmore. Here you’ll find displays of high quality fruits and vegetables, mountain crafts, jams, jellies, preserves, sourwood honey, and dozens of other farm fresh items. Also on the site is a deli serving sandwiches and ice cream, a full service restaurant at The Moose Café, and the Jesse Israel & Sons Garden and Nursery Center.

Charlotte Regional Farmers Market
1801 Yorkmont Road
Charlotte, NC 28266
(704) 357-1269
If you’re looking for a friendly place to shop for fresh produce, fresh pork products, grass fed beef, ostrich & emu meat, goat milk cheese, baked goods, jams and jellies, handmade crafts, goat milk soap, beautiful fresh cut flowers and plants of every kind, you can find it all here. Also on site are the Greenery Barn, which supplies local gardeners with any flower, bedding plant, shrub or tree they’re searching for, and the Craft Barn, with a wide selection of handmade items and gifts.

Raleigh Farmers Market
1201 Agriculture Street
Raleigh, NC 27603
(919) 733-7417
More than fresh vegetables, the Raleigh Farmers Market is a family adventure. Considered one of the best and most modern markets in the country, visitors here enjoy 75 acres of indoor and outdoor specialty shops, restaurants and garden center, with fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses and gift products from across the state. Be sure and visit the “NC Meat & Cheese Center”, where you can find farm raised beef, poultry, ostrich, chevon, duck, and bison, as well as other specialty meats, farmstead cheeses, eggs, and more.

Piedmont Triad Farmers Market
2914 Sandy Ridge Road
Colfax, NC 27235
(336) 605-9157
This state-of-the-art facility between Winston-Salem and Greensboro opened in 1995 and allows bona fide growers to set up store under a 21,120 square foot retail shelter. Here, you can purchase fresh, local fruits, vegetables and ornamentals directly from the farmer who grew them. They are as fresh as picking your own, but without getting dirty. You can also enjoy a series of promotional events such as Watermelon Day, Pumpkin Day, or one of several Craft Fairs.

Southeastern North Carolina Farmers Market
1027 US Highway 74 East
Lumberton, NC 28358
(910) 618-5699
Convenient to visitors traveling on Interstate 95 or U.S. 74, this market carries a wide selection of homegrown fresh vegetables and fruit and is open daily, year round. There are also handmade gift items from regional craftsmen on site, as well as a local meat packing company that sells traditional pork items like sausage and bratwurst, as well as flavors of the Irish and British cultures that settled this area.

Of course, North Carolina also has dozens of regional, county, and city farmers markets that provide fresh food on an even more local level. For a detailed list of those markets, go the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service’s Farmers Markets Directory

added: May 22, 2009
updated: May 26, 2010

This Page:
http://www.visitnc.com/journeys/articles/stop-by-the-farm/1/nc-farmers-markets