(Thanks to Betsy Martinez for contributing with this story and to Chris Cutro for the picture)

When Grisel Couto asked for a bundle of fresh cilantro, she got just what she asked for. The booth attendant hand picked them right in front of her and bagged the herbs – dirt clumps still clinging to the roots. That’s what makes this crop fields-meets-city veggie mart so unique: some of the produce is grown right before your eyes.

Roots in the City’s Urban Market, the first-of-its-kind farmer’s market, ran every Wednesday through April in Overtown, offering the freshest veggies and herbs in Miami.

And besides the freshness of the produce, or the fact that it’s grown on premises, or that it’s the first of its kind in South Florida, the market was special to the city because it offered those on food stamps twice as much value for their stamps.

Roots in the City has set up two small gardens – one just behind the market and the other right across the street. It’s from these gardens that Roots in the City farmers grow, sell and even cook some of the freshest produce.

And when the look and smell of all these delicious and healthy treats gets your stomach growling, it’s time to hit up the fried food stands. No to worry, they use safflower oil, which some research suggests helps increase metabolism and decrease body fat.

Hani Khouri from the Redland Mediterranean Organics fried up some crunchy organic fava bean friters at this Wednesday’s market. The $5 friters were then wrapped up sandwich-style and handed off to several eager customers – putting smiles on famished faces.

If you missed this market during April, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to visit in the fall, when the growing season restarts and the market reopens.

For more information on what Roots in the City is doing, check out http://www.rootsinthecity.net/