Bring two things with you: some cash and your appetite. Sweet and savory crepes are served up under one tent. Open-faced sandwiches of crispy shrimp and molten cheddar at another. Juicy gyros, granola and yogurt parfaits, kettle corn, cold lemonade or hot coffee are hawked by smiling vendors from neighboring booths.

The Charleston Farmers Market is one of the best in the country. It’s also open for a majority of the year, from April to December. Besides the 25 food vendors, more than 50 artists present their wares and work each week, and more than 20 farmers and growers proudly display beautiful produce grown on local farms, as well as grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, plenty of flavors of goat cheese, locally made pasta, and pickled veggies.

For those new to the South, one can easily expand their palates, scooping up delectable South Carolina specialties such as butterbeans, okra and muscadine grapes. In the summer, fruit lovers are treated to strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, watermelon, figs and, of course, South Carolina peaches.

The local farmers that populate the Charleston Farmers Market are the same ones that supply so many of Charleston’s world-class restaurants. For students passionate about cooking their own meals with fresh, nutritious and tasty food, the Charleston Farmer’s Market can be their single food stop each week, not even requiring a trip in the car. And for those students whose only goal is finding Saturday brunch after a long week of classes, the farmers market is a great place to fill a stomach and start a weekend.