Iowa City Farmers Market Ranks High in State, Nationally

City Release

The votes are in, and once again, the Iowa City Farmer's Market has been named the #1 market in the state by American Farmland Trust in its annual "America's Favorite Farmers Markets" contest. The Iowa City market also made the national Top 20 list in the large market category, garnering the #17 spot and sharing the limelight with markets from much larger metro areas, including Seattle, St. Paul, Omaha, and Baltimore. Large markets are defined as having 56 or more vendors.

Iowa City was the only market in Iowa to be ranked nationally in any of the four categories -- small, medium, mid-sized, or large markets. State-wide, the top five markets, calculated by the number of votes they received regardless of market size, were Iowa City, followed by Mount Pleasant, Des Moines Downtown, Urbana, and Davenport. 

The contest has been held each year for the past four years. Iowa City has competed the past three years, and each time has been named the top market in Iowa. It also made the national top 20 list in 2010. The Iowa City Farmer's Market is held Wednesday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m. and Saturday mornings from 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Chauncey Swan Parking Ramp, across from City Hall on Washington Street. Market vendors offer fresh fruits and vegetables, plants and flowers, prepared foods and baked goods, and a variety of hand-crafted items, including jewelry, textiles, and metalwork, each week. Other market events, including live music and art projects, are held simultaneously at the Chauncey Swan Park adjacent to the ramp.

American Farmland Trust initiated the annual contest in an effort to raise national awareness about local Farmers Markets and to highlight the critical role these markets play in keeping farmland in agricultural production and family farmers in business. Contest winners are determined by the number of votes they receive from their patrons. Contest rules dictate that people can vote for as many participating Farmer's Markets as they choose, but can only vote for each market once. 

American Farmland Trust is the only national conservation organization dedicated to saving America's farm and ranch land. For more information, visit www.farmland.org.