If you’ve been living in London for a few years and like your food, you’ve probably been to a farmers market. If you’ve never been, it’s time to check one out.

Food for foodies
With such a buzz at the moment about seasonal ingredients, locally sourced food and all things organic, they’re a resource not to be overlooked. They’re also great fun to wander around at the weekend when you need to do some shopping but can’t face the supermarket – especially on sunny days when you don’t want to waste precious time inside.

Try then buy
There are 15 farmers markets in London, all run by a small company called – would you believe it – London Farmers Markets. You can find them in Blackheath, Clapham, Ealing, Finchley Road, Islington, Marylebone, Notting Hill, Peckham, Pimlico Road, Pinner, Primrose Hill, Queens Park, Turnham Green, Twickenham and Wimbledon Park. Their defining feature is that all the produce you’ll find there is made, grown, reared or shot by the stallholders themselves. This means that, as you hand your money over, you can also ask about where your food comes from and the best ways to cook and eat it. Stallholders’ enthusiasm for their produce is one of the joys of the farmers market and it can be contagious. Although many of the stalls at each market are regulars, the produce varies throughout the year so there are always new things to try.

Learn from the experts
Farmers’ markets tend to attract people who care about what they eat, from chefs and gourmet foodie types looking for unusual ingredients to the more health conscious and environmentally aware among us. All the farms that participate are within 100 miles of London, so they’re an excellent place to shop if you want to keep your food miles to a minimum. They’re also family-friendly places, where Cath Kidston attired yummy mummies rub shoulders with hordes of hungover twenty-somethings planning their next dinner party or wholesome Sunday lunch.

Worth getting out of bed for
So what’s good about farmers’ markets, aside from the ecological benefits, the appeal of weird and wonderful foods like edible flowers and the charm of local honey or wine and lavender from not-so-far-flung places like Kent and Hampshire? Apart from all that, farmers’ markets are just a lot of fun. For anyone tired of pushing a trolley full of the same old stuff up and down long, strip-lit aisles, they’re a breath of fresh air. The outdoor market vibe is uplifting, and the atmosphere is sociable – go along and chat to some stallholders, or even some people from your local neighbourhood, or someone else’s. You might have a laugh – even if it is just at an odd-shaped vegetable.