Local Foods not only provides a sales outlet for farmers, but can help strengthen a community by stimulating the local economy and creating local entrepreneurial opportunities. Farmers markets can promote food quality by reducing the distance that food travels from farm to consumer. When shipping is less of a concern, produce can be picked when it is full of flavor and tender, then quickly put into the hands of consumers seeking fresh products.
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Topics
Farmers Market Operation
Farmers Market Regulations
Featured Programs
Farm to School
Farm to school provides an opportunity for youth in early childcare, educational settings, after-school programs and other settings to experience local foods.
Dakota Food Rx
Produce prescription programs have been implemented all over the country to help increase people’s access to fruits and vegetables so they can manage their chronic conditions.
Featured Resources
Pick it, Try it, Like it for Grocery Stores and Sampling
Use these Pick it, Try it, Like it materials to educate consumers at farmers' markets or grocery stores.
Food Safety for Farmers Markets
Food safety bulletins for farmers markets and other direct marketing vendors
Upcoming Events
South Dakota Crunch Off
The South Dakota Crunch Off is an annual statewide event to celebrate local produce and farm to school by crunching into any South Dakota grown fruit or vegetable.
South Dakota Local Foods Conference
The South Dakota Local Foods Conference will be held from Friday, November 7 to Saturday, November 8, 2025, at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel 1400 8th Ave NW, Aberdeen, SD 57401).
Related Content
South Dakota Local Foods Conference
The South Dakota Local Foods Conference will be held from Friday, November 7 to Saturday, November 8, 2025, at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel 1400 8th Ave NW, Aberdeen, SD 57401).
Regulatory Guidance for Selling Foods in South Dakota
Now more than ever, we are seeing food processors and entrepreneurs in South Dakota bringing their food products, not only to farmers markets, but also to retail stores. This article provides regulatory guidance and outlines the necessary steps required to allow for the sale of foods to retail stores.
Perfect produce? Understanding the standards behind cabbage quality and condition from a production perspective
Learn about the U.S. Department of Agriculture cabbage grading requirements, as they are key to understanding why produce is graded to certain standards before it ends up on grocery store shelves.