Haleiwa Farmers Market is the best in Hawaii, and represents the Aloha State on the Cooking Light magazine list of 50 Best Farmers Markets across the U.S.

State-by-state selections were made by chefs and food authorities who live and work in the state.

Farmers markets “matter,” said Hunter Lewis, Cooking Light editor, in a statement. “They connect you to a local economy and the pulse of a place,” adding that the number of farmers markets across the country has soared some 371 percent in the last 20 years, “fueled by our craving for fresh local food.”

The full list is available online and in the June issue of Cooking Light, released to newsstands Friday.

The Haleiwa Farmers Market is open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. each Thursday in Waimea Valley. It is one of the FarmLovers Farmers Markets run by Living Breath LLC, which also stages farmers markets in Kakaako, Pearlridge, and the KailuaTown Farmers Market, according to its website.

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