Takoma Park Farmers Market

Organized in 1982, the Takoma Park Farmers Market was the Washington area's first Sunday market and an early pioneer in the "producers-only" movement. When the market opened, in mid-summer 1983, it featured about a half dozen farmers and only partly filled the north side of Laurel Ave. Customers were few and sales were modest. Today almost two dozen producers line both sides of Laurel Avenue, and the market attracts thousands of people weekly to shop at its burgeoning stands. Along the way, the market has greatly expanded the range and availability of the products it offers-from heirloom tomatoes and variegated sweet corn to free-range eggs and exotic bouquets. But some things, happily, have remained the unchanged. Two of the original vendors continue to sell at the Takoma Park Farmers Market: Potomac Vegetable Farms, Roland's Farm and the Twin Springs Fruit Farm.