A farmstand is a small store or booth where farmers sell their fruits, vegetables, and other products directly to customers. Unlike a supermarket, where food travels from many different farms through warehouses and trucks, a farmstand offers produce grown right there on that farm or nearby.

You might see a farmstand as a simple wooden structure by the roadside, or as a permanent building with refrigerators and shelves. Some farmstands work on the honor system: customers pick what they want, leave money in a box, and make their own change. Others have someone there to help and answer questions about how the food was grown.

Shopping at a farmstand means the corn you buy might have been picked that morning, and the tomatoes might still be warm from the sun. Farmers often sell seasonal items you won't find in winter grocery stores: fresh cider in fall, berries in summer, or pumpkins in October. Many farmstands also sell eggs, honey, flowers, or homemade jams.

The experience connects people directly to where their food comes from. You can ask the farmer which apples are best for pies, when the peaches will be ripe, or how to cook an unfamiliar vegetable. It's farming and shopping combined in one simple, straightforward place.