For related articles and information, please visit OCA’s All About Organics page.

Photograph by Takaaki Iwabu, The News & Observer via AP
Chia Yang, of Statesville, makes a bouquet at the State Farmers Market in North Carolina. She and her husband sell flowers here on weekends  

For many living in the lower reaches of the United States, it’s a touch of southern comfort: Farmers markets-with offerings of peaches, sweet corn, watermelon, and cantaloupe-are cropping up across the region, filling “fresh food deserts” with local produce and offering healthier alternatives to low-income families.  

New data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that between 2013 and 2014, five of the states that saw the biggest increase in farmers markets were in the South-Tennessee (20.2 percent), Louisiana (12.1 percent), Texas (6.6 percent), Arkansas (5.4 percent), and North Carolina (4.8 percent). Combined, the five states now support 725 unique markets.

“I knew that there were some new markets being established in the South, but I didn’t expect for southern states to edge out some of the northeastern states and the western states,” says Arthur Neal, deputy administrator for USDA’s agricultural marketing service.

But the recent gains weren’t as abrupt as some might think, says Bob Lewis. Since co-founding New York City’s Union Square greenmarket in 1976, Lewis has been at the forefront of the farmers market movement in America, working to establish the affordability and accessibility of farmers markets at both the state and federal level.

During National Farmers Market Week, which ends August 9, National Geographic spoke with Lewis about the cultural role of the southern farmers market, and the initiatives that led to its growth.