Lexington Farmers Market SNAPS back into season
The Lexington Farmers Market will be held at The Depot located at 129 S. Railroad St.
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Expect a fresh array of food, fellowship and payment options at the Lexington Farmers Market this season. Opening date is Saturday, May 1 and runs through Saturday, October 9, 2021. ‘
This includes partnering with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] which provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of families in need so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency.
“By taking SNAP EBT and offering the Fresh Bucks program, we can help community members double what they can spend on fresh, local food,” said Kivi Leroux Miller, president of the Lexington Farmers Market, explained. “Eating fresh food goes a long way in helping folks manage chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. Plus, these programs help our local farmers, because customers will be able to buy twice as many fruits and vegetables as they might otherwise.”
Miller said that details and technology are still being finalized. “We are waiting to receive the equipment to process SNAP EBT, but we hope to begin accepting it no later than Memorial Day weekend. Anything that allows more people to access fresh, local foods makes our community healthier, and it helps our farmers reach new customers. Being in the Fresh Bucks program means if someone swipes his EBT card for $10, he will actually get $20 worth of local foods.”
The Farmers Market leadership also plans to ease into a number of events including regular cooking demonstrations. “We purchased all of the equipment for a mobile demo kitchen area last year, but we couldn’t set it up because of the pandemic,” said Miller.
Lexington Utilities will sponsor “Local Chefs Cook at the Depot” where chefs shop at the Farmers Market and then offer a cooking lesson.
“We are also setting up a new cooking demo area in the Depot where both vendors and invited chefs can do cooking lessons using foods purchased at the Depot,” Miller said. “Previously, guest chefs had to bring their own equipment, which was a challenge. Now, we'll have the basics they need to show people how to make quick meals with fresh local food right there in the Depot. We do hope to live stream the cooking lessons.”
In addition to introducing new activities, the Lexington Farmers Market announced a grant from the Fresh Bucks program, which doubles the SNAP benefits dollar for dollar, so SNAP users will receive additional wooden tokens to buy fruits and vegetables only.
Many long-time vendors are returning to the market this year, but expect a few new faces. Miller said “Blue Butterfly Flower Farm from Salisbury is joining the market with cut flowers and bouquets, as well as some new artisan craft vendors.”
The official lineup of vendors will be announced later this month.
Market details recommend that shoppers who don’t want to come inside can use the Pre-Order Drive-Through Lane. Go to https://www.lexingtonfarmersmarketnc.com/preorder to see which vendors are participating. Order online or over the phone and pay in advance and your items will be packaged and ready for pickup Saturday morning.
Masks will be required for all vendors and shoppers until the state mask mandate is lifted.
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.
