By Martha Woodward

Jim Smith, the man everyone calls "the Pepper Man," along with all the other vendors, has returned to Market Square Mall again this year for the Farmer's Market. Smith and others haul in and sell fresh produce in the center of Market Square in downtown Knoxville each Saturday from Spring until late Fall.

Smith, who said this was his 5th year as a vendor, owns and operates Rushy Springs Farm near White Pine in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Smith, a native of New York state, left a highly stressful and well-paying job as a journalist to move to the country to grow fresh food, specializing in peppers.

"This is a mission from God," he said. "I am making a political statement and doing the work of the Lord."

Smith's booth is laden with red, green, orange, yellow, and even purple peppers, along with some other foods such as greens and squash. He sells a variety of bell, Habanero, Jalapeno, Cayenne, Serrano, and many more varieties of peppers.

"This is a Tennessee Cherry Limo pepper," he said as he pointed to a small, round pepper. "I think I have the only ones of these grown in the world, so I named them."

"Be careful; don't touch," he warned with a big smile. "The heat from the peppers will get on your hands and if you touch your eyes, you could be in trouble."

John Craig, the president of the Market Square Farmers' Market was on hand as well on Saturday, September 12, 2009 as a small crowd of shoppers paraded through the line of booths, stopping to talk to the vendors and to sample breads, mushrooms, apples, and much, much more.

"We are extremely proud of our market," said Craig. "We have been voted the 3rd best Farmers' Market in America, and are in line to be voted as the 2nd best. We will know by the end of next week where we stand."