WESTPORT — On the heels of National Farmers Market Week, which ran Aug. 1-7, Westport’s 15-year-old market is hoping to gain nationwide recognition.

“Farming is the backbone of this country,” said Lori Cochran, market director, “and without farmers we don’t have food.”

Consequently, she said, a farmers’ market is a place to find locally grown and produced products with superior ingredients and process, promoting health, local buying, and a generally welcoming environment of community.

Best of all, she said, this way a consumer can always “know who grows your food.”

In support of the Westport Farmers’ Market, Cochran is asking people to visit the American Farmland Trust website this week to cast their vote for the town’s market. The annual ranking conducted by the organization will give the nonprofit market a chance to take home a $2,500 top prize and receive national recognition.

“We have qualified in the final round,” Cochran said.

Last year they finished 26th nationally, but came in #1 for Connecticut.

“Every little vote matters to us,” she said, requesting that all Westporters make a stop on the AFT website … People can click here to vote: https://farmland.org/