Montgomery Advertiser : : = Business

A sign at the State Farmers Market in = Montgomery=20 on Wednesday displays the state Farmers Market=20 Authority's new slogan, "Buy Fresh, Buy = Local."=20

--=20 Photos by Julie Bennett=20 = Advertiser

With a soft but mercifully cool breeze dispersing = the=20 smells of fresh fruit and produce -- not to mention a = variety=20 of baked goods, flowers and houseplants -- state = officials and=20 representatives of the Alabama Farmers Federation = gathered=20 Wednesday morning at the State Farmers Market in = Montgomery to=20 urge Alabamians to "Buy Fresh, Buy Local."=20

The state Farmers Market Authority -- with their = colorful=20 signs and other marketing materials and activities -- = is=20 working to remind city dwellers throughout Alabama = that=20 there's a farmers market nearby.

Don=20 Wambles, administrator of the authority, said both = consumers=20 and Alabama farmers benefit from business at the = markets and=20 stands across the state.

Ida=20 Harrison shells peas in the Odell Brown Produce = booth=20 Wednesday at the State Farmers Market. A new = campaign=20 encourages people to buy food grown in their=20 area.=20 =

"The products from the farmers aren't just = fresher," he=20 said. "They are also better tasting than the varieties = that=20 are grown specifically for shipping or for a long = shelf life."=20

Wambles said the state of Alabama is funding the = marketing=20 effort, but he praised the Alabama Farmers Federation = --=20 perhaps better known as "Alfa Farmers" -- for a wealth = of=20 in-kind contributions to the campaign, including its = help in=20 drafting marketing materials and in organizing events = such as=20 Wednesday's news conference.=20

Brian Hardin of the Alfa Farmers commodity = department, said=20 Alabamians who patronize their area farmers markets = and=20 produce stands ensure that their money will go to = local=20 farmers, "who are your neighbors."

At=20 state farmers markets, he said, "You're buying from = someone=20 you know you can trust and whose products you know are = safe=20 and fresh."

Shiver's Produce employee Maureen Gray, = right,=20 bags vege=A5tables for customer Henry Grier of = Montgomery=20 at the State Farmers Market.=20 =

Wambles said the state has worked hard to expand = its=20 farmers markets in every region of Alabama. In 1995, = he said,=20 there were only 17 markets overseen by the state = Farmers=20 Market Authority. There are 72 today.=20

A list of the markets and their locations is = available on=20 the Web at www.BuyLocalAlabama.com.=20

The State Farmers Market in Montgomery is on = Federal Drive=20 near Coliseum Boulevard and is larger than many. Had=20 Wednesday's breeze been absent, the covered but = open-sided=20 facility could have put its dozens of large fans to = work in=20 keeping patrons comfortable.

Jerry=20 Newby, president of the Alabama Farmers Federation, = said the=20 state-certified markets, stands and "U-pick" = operations are=20 one of the best ways consumers have to "make a direct=20 connection with the person who actually grows the food = they=20 eat."

Don Wambles, administrator of the state = Farmers=20 Market Authority, stands Wednesday in front of = the=20 authority's new slogan. Wambles said food bought = at=20 farmers markets is not only fresher, but also=20 better-tasting=20

Wambles said farms participating in the "Buy Fresh, = Buy=20 Local" campaign range in size from an acre or two to = several=20 hundred acres. Each of them, however, is owned by an = Alabama=20 farmer, not an outside individual or organization.=20

Wambles said nine other states also use the "Buy = Fresh, Buy=20 Local" brand in promoting their farmers markets. The = brand was=20 established and its use is sold by FoodRootes Network, = a=20 national, nonprofit organization based in = Pennsylvannia that=20 is "working to preserve the agricultural base in our = country=20 today."=20

At the Montgomery market, farmers lease space on a = daily,=20 weekly or monthly basis, but, Wambles said, many of = the=20 smaller markets across the state are available to = farmers at=20 no charge. =

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