Want a fun way to combine exercise and healthy eating? The Market Mapper application helps you find nearby farmers markets, and makes it easy to get biking directions.
I created the program after discovering the U.S. Department of Agriculture had released an API that lets anyone browse its database of the thousands of farmers markets throughout the United States. By layering the data on a map, it’s easy to see all the options you have for farm-fresh food. When you hover over a marker, you’ll see a list of products and the market’s schedule (if USDA has the data).
The “directions” link takes you to Google Maps, with the market’s location already set up, and directions for a bike ride.
The app uses geolocation to set your starting point, but you can also enter any location in the input field. Or, just pan the map to move to a new location. Hitting “find markets” will trigger another search, based on the center of the map. If you know a place’s latitude and longitude, you can embed the starting point in the URL, like San Francisco, Boston, or Denver.
The USDA has been tracking farmers markets since 1994. Its chart of Farmers Market Growth: 1994-2012 shows more every year.
Bicycling, like farmers markets, is experiencing a bit of a renaissance. Bike sales have grown from 16.7 in 1994 to 18.7 million in 2012, a 12 percent increase (according to the National Bicycle Dealers Association). The League of American Bicyclists reports a 47 percent increase in bicycle commuting nationwide since 2000, and far greater increases in bicycle-friendly communities. And bike-sharing systems in the U.S. have increased from just one – Washington D.C. – in 2010 to at least 34 systems today across the country.
I love riding my bike to the neighborhood farmers market, and the two activities make for a great combination. It’s not just to see what’s in season, but I also run into friends and neighbors. It was also fun to create a map using the USDA API (there are more details on Mapping America’s Farmers Markets on my personal blog).
National Farmers Market Week is coming up, August 4-10. Celebrate by checking the app and then riding your bike to a market near you!
Photos by M.V. Jantzen