Our local farmers’ markets are cool, and that’s a fact. From 1994 to today, the number of farmers’ markets in the U.S. increased from 2,000 to more than 8,600. But despite the rise in popularity across the country in recent decades, farmers’ markets are really nothing new. In fact, a rather convincing argument could be made that the farmers’ market concept is pretty much as old as human civilization. As long as communities have existed, markets have operated to trade, barter, and sell local goods. And if there’s one thing that has never changed, it’s that we all have to eat.