AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Vendors all across the country are acknowledging National Farmers Market Week, and the market in Amarillo is nothing shy of its fair share of customers.
According to U.S. Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, there was a 9.6 percent national increase over last year's Farmers Market count. And though the drought has limited farmers on the produce they can supply, frequent shoppers are returning to Amarillo's market every week to buy the produce they need.
"I do a lot of canning. I entered 39 culinary entries in the state fair last year," Amarillo Farmers Market Customer Eric VanMarter said. "I got all of my produce here. It's at reasonable prices and it's much better product than you find at the market."
Extreme heat and high winds have taken a toll on Panhandle crops, and the variety of fruits and vegetables available at the market is not as abundant as before.
"With the water that we have, we try to bring the best product we can every time," Wieck Farms' Brian Stout pointed out.
Stout and his crew sell sweet corn, which appears to be in demand right now. According to Stout, they have been selling out of product before 9 a.m.
Amarillo's Farmers Market has been around for 26 years. Sue Malamen is one of two people who have been with the market since Day One, and she said the quality of the food is what keeps customers keeping.
"People want to know where their food is coming from. They want to visit with the farmers. They want to know what they put on their crops and they're just, overall, interested in local flavor."
Consumers are also showing interest in the freshness of the produce.
"We pick it the evening before or that morning and we bring it straight here," Stout added. "So, you're getting stuff that's, you know, less than 24 hours old as opposed to what you might get at the supermarket."
Like the farmers, Eric VanMarter is hoping for rain and cooler temperatures. Turning to stores to purchase produce is not what VanMarter wants to do.
"It's going to be much more expensive for me to do what I do because I do so much canning," he said. "And I'm going to have to turn to supermarkets to do it or I'm going to have to not do it at all. It's really going to put a hamper on one of my favorite hobbies."
Amarillo's Farmers Market is located at Sunset Center. It opens at 7 a.m. on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays and closes when produce is sold out.
