We are regularly bombarded with confusing messages about what we should be eating, continuing food scares, animal welfare violations and whether we want chlorinated poultry from the States!

Perhaps one of the simplest things you can do in response, is come and visit a Farmers’ Market and ask those questions yourself of the local producers who have grown, reared, harvested or baked the food on sale. You’ll find out the stories behind a whole range of local farmers, maybe even arrange to visit on open days and learn about their products.

Although it’s unlikely you’ll find an avocado or banana on sale, the range of foods produced in this region is wide-ranging and enough to satisfy most household tastes. By choosing to shop for locally produced food, even just once a month at the Midsomer Norton Farmers’ Market, you are helping to support our local food economy and keep small, traditional farms in business. It’s also providing a platform for new innovative food producers who are creating exciting new foods with local ingredients, and often catering for those who have a gluten or dairy-free diet.

So, whatever your tastes, we will have a full range of fresh loaves of bread, local sustainably caught fresh fish, cheeses produced from sheep, goat, cow and buffalo milk, vegetables and nutrient-rich microgreens.

Organic beef and free range Somerset pork from traditional and rare breeds, as well as goats’ meat and milk, apple juices and cider!

For the full list of producers who attend the market on a regular basis, please visit: www.somersetfarmers markets.co.uk

The next Midsomer Norton Farmers’ Market will take place on Saturday, 3rd February (always the first Saturday of the month) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. We’ll be welcoming back Plants and Gardens Nursery in March, as you begin to think of planning your garden.

It’s a social and welcoming morning, with live, ‘locally reared’ musicians and free parking... And avocados and bananas are always available at the shops!

Louise Hall, Somerset Farmers Markets