President of the Northern Colorado Farmers' Market Association, Inc., Matt Martindale, and his family started the very first farmers' market in Colorado in Downtown Denver at the Auraria Campus parking lot in the mid 1970's. With nearly thirty years of direct experience with farmers' markets having grown and sold for over a 1,000 farmers' markets personally, along with a degree in marketing from Colorado State University, the vision has been cast to revitalize the Northern Colorado lifestyle, and with a firm passion, he's driven to establish a circuit of quality farmers' markets throughout Northern Colorado.

Our mission: The Northern Colorado Farmer's Market Association is here to serve Northern Colorado by providing locally and regionally grown, fresh, high quality produce and products and to provide an opportunity for local farmers and producers in an economic outlet within Northern Colorado. This will aid to:

• Build community cohesion
• Do something pro-active to help local Northern Colorado farmers
• Aid in promoting agriculture
• Aid in promotion of a healthy lifestyle
• Provide more shopping choices

Matt Martindale says, "Freshness and the authentic flavor are why customers come back. You see, generally speaking, fruits and vegetables are grown for one of two reasons: taste or shelf life. It something is picked vine ripened or right off the tree, ready to eat right then with the best flavor, then chances are, it won't last 3 days, let alone the 3 weeks like what most folks buy from the grocery store. So, there's that delicate balance of taste and freshness versus how long you want to keep something in your refrigerator. My suggestion: at least from June to November 1st, avoid the grocery stores and come to the farmers' market. Support your local farmers and community and buy every week. Always shop fresh and flavor first! Then, try some new things, experiment with some new produce. Lastly, just like our slogan says: 'live healthy, eat healthy, be healthy!'" TM