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After a week of touring 11 farmers’ markets around the state as part of my Buy Local RI initiative (www.buylocalri.org), I can say I’m duly impressed by the vast array of fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meat and seafood harvested here in Rhode Island.

Farmer’s markets across the state are succeeding at sustaining Rhode Island’s working farms and improving our quality of life. Farmers are now growing a greater variety of produce thanks to the attention they’ve received at the markets, and more acres are being farmed to meet increased demand.

In turn, the markets have helped to expand our access to fresh, locally grown food. I’ve also seen a cottage business of homemade goods spring up around markets, including jams, salsas and baked goods.

There’s a strong level of commitment and entrepreneurial spirit among the growers and sellers. Many of the market participants sell their goods at multiple markets a week.

Yet each market has a slightly different focus: The Scituate market, for instance, has a strong focus on community participants, including local kids who sell what they’ve grown. At the East Greenwich market, the goal is to have all the items needed to make dinner, and get people to stop by the market after work and buy the makings of an entirely fresh, locally grown meal. The market director recruited their participants with that in mind.