HUGHESVILLE, Md. – The Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission (SMADC), a division of the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, has released the 2021 online guide to Southern Maryland farmers markets, on-farm stores and farm stands.
The ‘So. Maryland, So Good: Buy Local Guide‘, previously known as the Southern Maryland Farmers Market Guide, has been updated with a new look and an expanded directory of regional farmers markets, farm stands and on-farm stores that offer farm raised produce, value-added products, and other Maryland produced farm foods.
Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic and ongoing, local farm food resources such as farmers markets, neighborhood farm stands and on-farm stores have become essential destinations for consumers looking for a dependable supply chain of fresh locally sourced foods. The new So. Maryland, So Good: Buy Local Guide is designed to support this continuing trend with a convenient one-stop-shop directory of Southern Maryland farm market venues that offer a variety of locally grown farm products including produce, meats, seafood, dairy, value-added products such as jams and jellies, pickles, honey, baked goods, and cut flowers, plants and herbs.
The online Buy Local Guide lists more than 30 farmers markets in the five-county area (Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s), as well as 22 Southern Maryland farm stands and stores with regular in-person business hours, open to the public seasonally or year-round, and 10 additional markets in Maryland, Washington, D.C and Virginia that host one or more Southern Maryland farm vendor.
Search the interactive guide by county to locate farm markets in your area and find ‘need to know’ market details – season openings and business hours, location maps, market websites and social media links, plus information on virtual farmers markets, online order and payment options. Listings also provide vital food access information for food insecure households; bold ‘keys’ identify which markets, stands and stores accept Federal Nutrition Benefits and look for the ‘Maryland Market Money’ program logo on participating markets that offer matching dollars for purchases made using SNAP/EBT/P-EBT, eWIC, and Senior and WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) benefits.
The new So. Maryland, So Good: Buy Local Guide is available now to view online at SMADC.com under ‘Consumer Resources’, on the ‘Get our Guides’ page. The Guide will be updated frequently as farm markets prepare to open for the 2021 market season and continue to adjust their operational procedures to ensure a safe and adequate food supply for consumers in line with the latest state and federal COVID-19 guidelines.