National Farmers Market Week: Support Ashburn Vendors

ASHBURN, VA — The first week of August marks National Farmers Market Week, and there's no better time to visit Ashburn's farmers markets and support local producers.

The Eat LoCo Farmers Market is one of a handful of farmers markets available to residents across Loudoun County. Eat LoCo's One Loudoun farmers market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays on Atwater Drive. Their Brambleton farmers market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays at corner of Olympia Drive and Legacy Drive.

This year, National Farmers Market Week from Aug. 1 to 7 celebrates the resiliency of farmers markets during the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid challenges with conventional food supply chains at the start of the pandemic, farmers markets stepped up to meet a growing interest in local foods. Markets adapted to restrictions with social distancing, regulating traffic flow, advance ordering systems and more for the safety of vendors and shoppers.

This year, Loudoun County's array of farmers markets are back to business as usual with few restrictions. Shoppers who are not vaccinated and children under 12 are encouraged to wear a mask. Eat LoCo's two farmers markets are open year-round, though seasonal offerings will vary.

Eat LoCo is a newer farmers market; it was originally planned in 2015 and started officially in 2017. The markets, which are run by Dan Hine, are proud to provide exposure for small businesses and farmers.

Eat LoCo is still growing. "We are on the right track as we begin to change the landscape on how farmers sell, how they get more exposure, and almost as importantly, how we can get Loudoun to purchase more local and sustainable product," Hine says on their website.

The annual National Farmers Market Week celebration is coordinated by the Farmers Market Coalition, a nonprofit providing training, technical assistance and network-building to farmers markets nationwide.

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