Farmers Market at the Depot Opens Saturday, May 7
(Lexington, NC) -- The Lexington Farmers Market at the Depot will kick off the 2022 market season with Opening Day on Saturday, May 7 from 8 am to Noon. The farmers market will be open every Saturday morning through October 8, 2022.
This year, the market will be hosting special events nearly every Saturday mid-morning, starting with a Cambodian cooking demo by Veronica Tim on May 7 and a wood carving for kids demonstration by Tad Kepley on May 14. Future events will include educational demonstrations by the Davidson County Master Gardeners, cooking demonstrations by local chefs and vendors, and cooking competitions for the public to enter.
“It’s been a long two years without all of our fun events at the Farmers Market due to the pandemic, so we are very excited to bring back lots of community activities this year,” says Kivi Miller, president of the Lexington Farmers Market board of directors. One silver lining of the pandemic has been a renewed interest in locally grown and produced foods. “You don’t have the same supply chain issues when you are buying from farmers growing crops and raising animals just down the road from you,” says Miller.
The Lexington Farmers Market will continue to accept SNAP EBT cards and offer “Fresh Bucks” which doubles the amount of money SNAP recipients can spend at the Farmers Market. “You can go to the market manager’s table to swipe your SNAP EBT card. If you swipe the card for $10, for example, you’ll get $10 in SNAP tokens that can be used to buy any food items at the market and another bonus $10 in Fresh Bucks tokens that can be used on fruits and vegetables only,” explains Miller. Using a token system allows the farmers market to cover the expenses of accepting EBT cards instead of each farmer having to pay the fees.
Many long-time vendors are returning to the Farmers Market this year, but you will also see some new faces. New vendors include H & H Farms, Huffman’s Fresh Vegetables, Rierson Farms, Flatbed Farms, Grey Fox Soap, BAM Snack Shop, Papa Ted’s Woodshop, and Davidson County Woodworkers.
While all of the season pass spaces at the Depot are sold out for the season, weekly booth rentals are almost always available. Local farmers and artisan crafters can review information about selling at the market at www.lexingtonfarmersmarketnc.com under the “Sell at the Market” tab. All vendors must grow, make, or bake what they sell and must live in Davidson County or a surrounding county.
Beginning in mid-June, the Lexington Farmers Market will also host pop-up markets again this year on Wednesday mornings behind Conrad & Hinkle.
To keep up with what’s happening at the Depot week to week, follow the Farmers Market’s Facebook or Instagram pages @lexingtonfarmersmarketnc or sign up for the email list at https://www.lexingtonfarmersmarketnc.com
