Carolina On Your Mind

North Carolina and South Carolina are two of the fastest growing states in the United States, with a combined population of nearly 15 million and counting. Part of the attraction is plenty of fresh produce, grown locally and supplied to farmers’ markets, restaurants, and retailers throughout the sibling states. For insight into how agriculture plays a pivotal role in each state’s economy and elevates the Southeastern produce industry, read on.

Major Markets
There are four major wholesale markets scattered throughout North and South Carolina. These state-run markets move domestic and imported produce to buyers throughout the two states and beyond.

Raleigh Farmers Market, Raleigh, NC
The Raleigh Farmers Market sells the vast majority of produce grown in the Triangle area, which includes Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and surrounding cities. “We’ve been here on the market since it started,” says Vaughn Ford, buyer for Ford’s Produce Company, Inc. “It’s a central collection place for customers,” he explains, adding, “We have friendly competitors here on the market, and we all buy and sell amongst ourselves so we can cover our customers.”

In addition to the wholesale area, the Market includes a 30,000 square feet farmers’ building, three restaurants, and a number of shops to buy specialty items from across the country.

Western North Carolina Farmers Market, Asheville, NC
The Western North Carolina Farmers Market is conveniently located near downtown Asheville between two major interstate highways. First opened in 1977, the 36-acre site boasts panoramic views of the mountains as well as the famous tourist destination, Biltmore Estate. The market includes a restaurant and five open-air truck sheds with 194 spaces where farmers and dealers sell their produce. Encompassing more than 38,000 square feet, the markets’ wholesale buildings are open year-round, 24 hours, seven days a week.

Paul Collins, president of Paul Collins Produce Company, Inc., has been working the market since 1993. “Geographically, we’re at the cross-section of I-40 and I-26, and naturally that infrastructure helps,” he says, noting that it’s relatively easy to get to upstate South Carolina, northern Georgia, eastern Tennessee, southern Virginia, and southern Kentucky from the market.

Greenville State Farmers Market, Greenville, SC
Open seven days a week year-round (except for Thanksgiving and Christmas), the Greenville State Farmers Market sells produce grown throughout the Palmetto State. Originally founded in 1949, the Greenville Market operated under the oversight of the Greenville County Marketing Commission until 1980 when the South Carolina Department of Agriculture assumed operations of the facility.