and while many folks (Leute) are still in bed, Alabama peach farmer Jimmy Witt has been up for hours readying (herrichten) his . "You get up 3:00, 3:30. It's a 45-minute drive there. So, you know I like to give myself an hour." But Alabama farmer up before the sun. Dozens of other local growers start their day farmers market. "The public wants . As long as you're an Alabama farmer, you have somewhere to sell. If you grow , you can come here and sell year-round every day."

The Alabama Farmers Market began with eighteen . Today a much larger number of growers sell their produce - wholesale (Großhandel) and retail (Einzelhandel) - on a sprawling (ausladend) 49-acre site in West Birmingham, that's been home to the market . Owned and operated by Alabama farmers, 350 million dollars in annual (jährlich) sales.

"Normally we would have anywhere from seventy five to a hundred farmers here. But on an annual basis we would have 300 to 500 farmers use this market to sell their product." "There are a lot of people that have restaurants that do show up there to buy fresh . Lots of wholesale produce stands come in there early in the morning, buy their produce they need for that day or the next day."

One wholesaler buying from Jimmy this morning is Dorothy Orrick. She'll spend five hundred dollars on his peaches produce she's purchased from Jimmy in the past. "It's just really important because it's fresh. You know, they just picked it. It's real fresh. And we always want to try and keep the customers happy."

Birmingham chef Matt Jones says vegetables and support local growers. "Certain vegetables are sweeter than others. Some are more tart (sauer). You know, just depending on the location where they're at. You know, self-sustained (autark) farms are very important with the flavors and stuff you get from your vegetables." "Some of the farmers will their steady (regelmäßig) customers. The customers will say, ‘Hold (aufheben) me a box.’ They'll actually hold that customer a box of whatever they're looking for."

While the experience of finding has long been a tradition here, that "consumer connection" has grown dramatically . The U.S. Department of Agriculture listed fewer than 1,800 farmers markets nationwide in . Today, to meet a growing consumer demand for locally grown, fresh foods, 8,000. "Most of what they're looking for is they're looking for something quality and they're looking for something fresh."

State and local governments have jumped on the bandwagon (fahrende Zug) farmers markets. The efforts not only bring in tax dollars (Steuergeld) but also provide sales outlets starting out. But the growers here at the Alabama Farmers Market distinction (Unterscheidung) that helps set them apart (abheben). "It's one of the only farmer-owned farmers markets , which is very unique (einzigartig)."

After Jimmy Witt drops his delivery (Lieferung), he's where his family's been picking peaches and other produce since the 1950s. , he has a contractor (Auftragnehmer) who sells his produce so he can prepare for the next day. "Whether it's peaches or okra (Okra) or, you know, whatever it might be." And the cycle starts again, of farmers markets across the country - consumers finding fresh produce and farmers enjoying . "You've got so many options to be able sell to the public: the warehouses (Lagerhaus), the grocery stores (Greißlerei), just the opportunity is so wide here. If you’ve grown a quality product, you will be able to sell it here."