MENANDS, N.Y. -- "Well I ate all three of my chocolate covered strawberries and licked the plate," said Mikki Fallon.

Now she's in a major jam.

It was the strawberry festival at Menands Farmers Market. With sweet chocolate smeared all over her face she realized her plate was empty.

But she doesn't have to go far for another sweet fix.

"We have strawberries that were picked this morning, we've got strawberries shortcake here, we've got free chocolate covered strawberries," said Menands Farmers Market general manager, Fred Cole.

The molten mountain of chocolate was a huge hit. Vendors even allowed people to double dip. Unless of course they already took a bite out of their succulent strawberry.

There was a wide variety of farm fresh produce, and it's all locally grown. It's a concept rooted in relationships.

"You're supporting the local economy. You're supporting local farmers. You know whatever you bought here came from within a nine county region," said Cole.

Mark Walsh, who works for Stanton Farms, agrees. "It's local, I mean home grown, nothing's better. You can taste the difference, it's so much better," he said.

Besides the fresh produce, shoppers at the market said this it was a great way to get to know their local farmers.

Caroline Cocca recently moved to Loudonville. She met some of the farmers for the first time. She said, "We just found out a new farm where you can pick your own strawberries, raspberries, and pumpkins in the fall. So we can't wait."

And Mikki Fallon can't wait either for the chocolate covered strawberries. On our last check she was on her last plate, licking her lips and excited for next week's market.

The Menands farmers market is opened every Saturday, rain or shine, until October.