Snellville Farmers Market Rated No. 1 in Nation

It's official: Snellville has the best farmers market in the nation. 

The local market ranks No. 1 in the country on the Top 100 Most Celebrated Farmers Markets list by American Farmland Trust's I Love My Farmers Market Celebration. The contest ended Sept. 9.

The Snellville Farmers Market Facebook page announced the win on Tuesday: "Can you guess which farmers' market is #1 in Georgia and #1 in the NATION? Thanks so much to all our fans and supporters who pledged to spend money with our farmers and other great vendors. The market truly supports our local economy."

Last year, the Snellville Farmers Market ranked No. 1 in Georgia and No. 2 nationally in another contest by American Farmland Trust. The previous two years, Snellville ranked No. 3 in the nation. 

Nearby, Monroe reached No. 21 nationally for 2013, and Grayson Farmers Market ranked No. 27. This year was the first year the Grayson market opened.

American Farmland Trust's I Love My Farmers Market Celebration encourages consumers to pledge to spend $10 at their local farmers market, and then the pledges go toward the market's ranking. 

With those pledges, Snellville won by a huge margin. The Snellville Farmers Market had $27,460 pledged, while No. 2's Aptos Farmers Market in California had only $12,680.

It seems Snellville's always had a huge margin. On July 29, the Gwinnett city had $5,460 pledged, and the No. 2 spot went to Shreveport Farmers Market in Louisiana with $2,830.

Not only do pledges help a customer's farmers market earn national recognition—it also helps the community. For every $10 spent on local food, as much as $7.80 is re-spent in the local community, supporting local jobs and businesses. Also, the farmer takes home almost $8 to $9 instead of the $1.58 that farmers and ranchers receive when food is purchased through a retail market.

The Top 100 most celebrated markets will receive a special logo honoring their achievement; No Farms, No Food gear; and recognition on the Celebration’s website.

The Snellville Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon on the city's town green near city hall. The last day of the 2013 market is Sept. 28.