Show your support for farmer-to-consumer farmers' markets in the "I love my farmers market celebration"

Washington, DC, July 18, 2013 — Up-to-the-minute current state standings, as well as the top three markets celebrated in each state, are available today at www.farmland.org/rankings for American Farmland Trust’s I Love My Farmers Market Celebration.

Your pledge can help your farmers market earn national recognition. In addition to seeing which states are in the top five today, markets with the most pledges will be featured on an up-to-the-minute “100 Most Celebrated Farmers Markets” leader-board by the end of July.

The I Love My Farmers Market Celebration encourages consumers to pledge to support family farmers by visiting www.lovemyfarmersmarket.org and signing an online pledge form. A pledge is a commitment to spend $10 at your farmers market. Each week one participant and their favorite farmer will be selected to receive a free No Farms No Food® hat.

As Todd Gray, famed chef and spokesperson for the Celebration states, “It is critical to ensure our nation’s farmland is protected. By taking the pledge to spend $10 at your local farmers market through the I Love My Farmers Market Celebration, you are helping to ensure that family farmers are able to stay on the land. As someone who understands the value of fresh foods, I am proud to collaborate with American Farmland Trust to save family farmers and farmland.”

Just as Americans begin to embrace the advantages of local farmers markets, many of these markets may be in danger of disappearing. American Farmland Trust’s I Love My Farmers Market Celebration draws attention to a stark reality — once farmland is paved over, it is lost forever. Moreover, the farmland closest to urban centers is at the highest risk of being bulldozed.

American Farmland Trust’s I Love My Farmers Market infographic helps local food consumers go beyond their appreciation for fresh local food and see the bigger picture of how keeping farmers on the land benefits us all. The infographic can be downloaded and viewed at www.farmland.org/infographic.

I Love My Farmers Market Celebration is part of American Farmland Trust’s No Farms No Food® Campaign. The celebration marks the fifth year that American Farmland Trust has hosted a summer-long event to honor our nation’s hardworking family farmers and to raise national awareness about our bountiful farmers markets.

For more information on the I Love My Farmers Market Celebration or to pledge, visit www.lovemyfarmersmarket.org.