The opening of an established seasonal farmers market is a lot like old home week. Visiting opening day for the Tucker and East Atlanta Village farmers markets this month, it was hard to get a word in edgewise as vendors and customers welcomed one another back or introduced themselves.
In Tucker, Lori Doyel and her mother Betty of Chamblee were out with pup Daisy doing a little shopping.
“We like to keep our dollars local, so we love supporting local farmers markets,” Doyel said. Their shopping basket included vegetables from Straight From the Backyard Farm, meat from Wagon Wheel, and treats from Azi’s Midnight Munchies for Daisy. “She’s been making do with nonlocal dog biscuits waiting for the market to open.”
Lynn Teddlie of Straight From the Backyard Farm was presiding over a table filled with kale, collards and collard sprouts, spring onions and sweet potatoes, happy to get started on her third year of selling at the Tucker market. “I grew up in Tucker, so it’s coming home for me. There’s great community support for this market, and it’s nice to see all the changes happening here on Main Street,” she said.
Tucker resident Wayne Kelley is a weekly shopper at the market. Out on opening day, he enjoyed watching old neighbors and new ones making their way through the booths. On his shopping list? Dog treats, organic cheese, smoked fish and a treat from King of Pops.
Like most metro farmers markets, Tucker’s is filled with a mix of farmers and meat producers like Teddlie and Welton Bettis of Happy Hogs, and those with value-added products like King of Pops and Smyrna-based FAB Pimento Cheese. Some are only at a few markets while other local companies like Anisa’s Secrets and Mo’ Mint & Thyme have booths at a half dozen or more.
Those attending are there as much to see what’s new and visit with their neighbors as to pick up the week’s groceries.
“This market is loaded with families and I’m thankful for that. Kids need to learn about where their food comes from,” said farmer Cass Fraunfelder of Finch Creek Farm as he looked out on the crowd.
On the opening day for East Atlanta Village’s market, Henry Bryant, of East Atlanta, was signing copies of his book “Images of America: East Atlanta” (Arcadia Publishing, $21.99). He especially appreciates the very local nature of this market.
“We can get fresh vegetables from Brightside Farms, grown at the Mennonite church just down the street,” he said.
His co-author, Katina Van Cronkhite, pointed out that their book contains pictures of produce from farms in the area in the 1890s. “What we see at this market just follows in the community’s tradition of food being grown nearby, brought to market and finding its way to the dinner tables of East Atlanta,” she said.
Longtime vendors Linda Scharko of Scharko Farms and Joe Reynolds of Love Is Love Farm surveyed the shoppers chatting with friends and neighbors, juggling dogs, babies in strollers and reusable bags of goodies, and estimated East Atlanta’s opening crowd to be about half familiar faces and half new ones.
“I love a new market,” said Jennifer Silverberg of Virginia-Highland, on her first visit to the East Atlanta Village market. “It’s great that it’s on Thursday. I’ve picked up chard, tea, fresh cream and dirty rice mix, and we’re enjoying the pizza and ice cream,” she said.
Scotch Corner Foods of Clarkston is new to the farmers market scene and was selling its very first jars of small batch peanut butter.
“You had me at peanut butter,” Brian Kahanek said as he stopped to sample the choices. King of Pops icy treat in one hand, small tasting spoon in another, he decided on a jar of Peanut-Pecan Butter. Kahanek and his wife, Jill, moved to East Atlanta from Los Angeles last fall. Back in California, they were farmers market regulars. In Atlanta, they’re continuing the tradition.
Candler Park Market Deli was also on hand, another new addition to farmers markets this year. Daniel Holtzclaw was finding the market to be a great break from the normal work routine. “It’s really nice to get out of our neighborhood, introduce people to the deli and talk to the really great people here,” he said.
YEAR-ROUND FARMERS MARKETS
Courthouse Square Market
This indoor market is in a 1919 building that once housed car dealerships and then a furniture store on McDonough’s square. A deli operates Tuesdays through Saturdays, and on Saturdays the community can shop for locally grown produce, farm fresh eggs, grass-fed beef, honey, farm-raised pork, assorted baked goods, jams, jellies and even craft beer from booths set up among antique cars and historic exhibits.
8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays year-round. 15 Griffin St., McDonough. www.facebook.com/CourthouseSquareMarket/info
Decatur Farmers Market
This year-round farmers market is open on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings at two different Decatur locations. Hours listed here are for spring, summer and fall and will change as the days get colder and daylight saving time ends. These are two of the four metro Atlanta markets run by Community Farmers Markets. Longtime vendors include Scharko Family Farm of Fairburn, Tink’s Grass-Fed Beef, Mountain Earth Farm and Hidden Spring Honey.
Regular hours are 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at 498 N. McDonough St., Decatur; 4-7 p.m. Wednesdays at 308 Clairmont Ave., Decatur. Markets open one hour earlier during standard time. www.decaturfarmersmarket.com
Farmers Market at Sweet Apple Village
This year-round market offers produce, eggs and more. Tom’s Awesome Seafood brings wild-caught seafood directly from the Georgia coast, Gazaway Farms offers grass-fed beef and pork and Happy Hog comes with any pork cut you can imagine. Lillian’s Sweet Hawaiian BBQ brings their family’s barbecue sauce and glaze made from recipes developed by their Hawaiian grandmother in 1908. McCrary Farms comes with heirloom vegetables, and Real Bread Co. brings bread made with freshly milled ingredients.
3-7 p.m. Thursdays. 12030 Etris Road, Roswell. www.facebook.com/FarmersMarketatSweetAppleVillage
Grayson Farmers Market
This year-round market is mostly under cover in the pavilion of Grayson Park. Vendors bring eggs, grass-fed beef, local honey, coffee, baked goods and locally grown produce. Food trucks offer the chance to pick up dinner each week. Regulars include Big Daddy’s Q and Mac the Cheese.
3:30-7 p.m. Wednesdays year-round. Grayson Park, 475 Grayson Parkway, Grayson. www.facebook.com/GraysonFarmersMarket
Marietta Square Farmers Market
Located in historic downtown Marietta, this market is open on Saturdays and Sundays. The Saturday market is open all year around and hosts vendors selling an array of produce, soaps, honey, breads, preserves and dog treats. The Sunday market runs from April through December. In the winter, the market moves to a street alongside the square. The rest of the year, the vendors set up along the north side of the square.
9 a.m.-noon Saturdays year-round; noon-3 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 23. 65 Church St., Marietta. www.mariettasquarefarmersmarket.net
Morningside Farmers Market
This all-certified organic market, now in its 19th year, may be the grandmother of local farmers markets in the Atlanta area. The produce vendors include Crystal Organic, D & A Farms, Burge Organic Farm, Elm Street Gardens and Sparta Imperial Mushrooms. Uncle Dom’s sells homemade Italian pasta, Hazelbrand Farm sells farmstead soap and Cimino Farm offers the widest variety of local fruit available.
8-11:30 a.m. Saturdays in winter; 7:30-11:30 a.m. Saturdays the rest of the year. 1939 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
Our Community Farmers Market
This producer-only market features prepared foods, work from local artisans and produce grown in the gardens and farms of the vendors. Regulars at the market include Magnolia Manor Sweets, Hardy Bakery, Fire Mountain Coffee, Abundant Harvest Gardens, Hunts Family Garden, Yves Garden, Painted Lady Soaps, Wally Bees Honey, Adictos a la Salsa and Split Creek Pastures with pork cuts, bacon, eggs and milk. The market now offers shoppers the chance to double their SNAP benefits.
9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays beginning April 19. Open year-round. 2862 Ga. 54, Peachtree City. www.ourcommunityfarmersmarket.com
Peachtree City Farmers Market
Vendors line the parking lot of this twice-weekly market held Wednesdays and Saturdays. There are more than two dozen vendors who come all year around and more than 40 in high season, May through September. Not all vendors attend both days, but the list of farmers and artisans you might find includes Two Dove Farms, Farm House Beef, Rocking Chair Ranch Cattle, Country Gardens Farm, Crager Hager Farm and Scharko Farms. Seniors enjoy free coffee and Danish on Wednesdays. The market offers chef demos and live music during the summer with food trucks and picnic tables for an impromptu lunch.
9 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays year-round. Aberdeen Village Shopping Center. 215 Northlake Drive, Peachtree City. www.ptcfarmersmarket.org/
SEASONAL MARKETS OPENING SOON
Acworth Farmers Market
This market is organized by the Acworth Downtown Development Authority. Vendors offer local fruits and vegetables, plants, pickles, jams and jellies and fresh baked goods including cakes, cookies and pies.
7-11 a.m. Fridays, May 23-Oct. 31. 4846 S. Main St., Acworth. www.acworth.org
Chamblee Tucker Farmers Market
The Chamblee Tucker Farmers Market is held in the parking lot of Northeast Baptist Church. The market offers local produce, artisan cheese, fresh baked breads, homemade dog treats, organic jams, herbs, plants and fair trade coffee. If you’re interested in selling on an occasional basis, the market welcomes those with homemade food for sale.
9 a.m.-noon Saturdays, May 3 through October. 4046 Chamblee Tucker Road, Atlanta. www.facebook.com/pages/Chamblee-Tucker-Farmers-Market/133524216658212
Cherokee Fresh Market
Cherokee Fresh Market is located at the Cagle Family Farm in the Hickory Flat community, 30 miles north of Atlanta. The farm setting includes lots of shade, a covered pavilion, restrooms and occasional farm tours. The market is a source of handcrafted items, plants and home-baked goods as well as fresh local produce that may come from someone’s backyard garden or a large family farm.
8:30-11:30 a.m. Saturdays, May 31-Aug. 30. 362 Stringer Road, Canton. www.facebook.com/cherokeefreshmarket
Gwinnett Community Market
This indoor market offers food trucks, locally grown produce, grass-fed beef, pastured pork, breads and baked goods, jams and jellies, goat cheese, fresh-roasted coffee, spice mixtures, live plants, fresh-cut flowers, handmade soaps and lotions and arts and crafts.
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays, April 27-Dec. 21. North Atlanta Trade Center, 1700 Jeurgens Court, Norcross. www.facebook.com/gwinnettcommunitymarket.
Henry County Farmers Market
This market is organized by the Henry County Cooperative Extension. Many vendors are gardeners who grow more than their households can consume and bring their excess to the market to sell. Local master gardeners with plant licenses bring plants. There are eggs and honey available and crafts like aprons for sale as well.
10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursdays, May 29-Aug. 28. Heritage Park, 97 Lake Dow Road, McDonough. www.facebook.com/HenryCountyFarmersMarket/info
Kennesaw Farmers Market
This market is held in the parking lot of the Adams Park Soccer Field. Over 30 local farmers and merchants bring seasonal produce, flowers, baked goods, plants, herbs and locally produced food.
7 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesdays, May 6-Oct. 28. 2753 Watts Drive, Kennesaw. www.kennesaw.com/kennesaw-farmers-market/
Lawrenceville Farmers Market
Lawrenceville boasts the second-oldest farmers market in Gwinnett County, now in its ninth year. The market offers a wide selection of local and sustainably grown produce. Other vendors bring goat cheese and freshly baked breads, cakes and cookies. Local farm crafts and homemade jams, jellies and spice blends, baskets and dog treats are more of the offerings.
8 a.m.-noon Saturdays, June 7-Sept. 6. 153 E. Crogan St., Lawrenceville. www.lawrencevillefarmersmarket.com.
Lilburn Farmers Market
Lilburn’s market is held in the parking lot of Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, a new location for this 5-year-old market. Shoppers will find fresh fruits and vegetables, salsas, baked goods, cheeses, pasta and ready-to-eat items. There are chef demos, live music, children’s activities and a Little Free Library every week. Special events include “Georgia on My Mind,” a watermelon seed spitting contest and Dog Days of Summer, when shoppers are permitted to bring their canine friends. The market bills itself as “A Tasty Way to Start Your Weekend.”
4-8 p.m. Fridays, June 6-Aug. 29. 1400 Killian Hill Road, Lilburn. www.lilburnfarmersmarket.org/
Serenbe Farmers and Artists Market
Held on the village green in the Serenbe community in Chattahoochee Hills, this market is filled with small local and sustainable growers, artisans and craftsmen. This year, there’ll be monthly chef demonstrations and seasonal classes on canning and preserving held in the Bosch Center in Serenbe. Serenbe Farms will be open to the public every Saturday at 12:30 p.m. with free farm tours offered.
9 a.m.-noon Saturdays, May 10-Nov. 1. Selborne Lane, Palmetto. www.serenbefarms.com/food/market
Smyrna Fresh Produce Market
This market is organized by Keep Smyrna Beautiful and for the past four years has been held in the back parking lot of Smyrna’s First Baptist Church. Fruit and vegetable growers bring a variety of offerings including peaches, both organic and conventional. Other offerings include sauces, soaps and body lotions, and potted and bedding plants.
8 a.m.-noon Saturdays, May 3 through fall. 1275 Church St. S.E., Smyrna. www.smyrnacity.com or www.facebook.com/cityofsmyrnaga or on Twitter at @smyrnanews
Snellville Farmers Market
Snellville’s market offers only produce that is locally grown and seasonal as well as meat and eggs from local farms. There are also a small number of craft vendors and booths with homemade baked goods, jellies, jams, preserves and honey. Gretchen Schulz, market manager, says it’s the sense of community that makes this market special. “We work very hard to have a family-friendly atmosphere. It is a gathering spot where friends and neighbors reconnect.”
8 a.m.-noon Saturdays, June 7-Sept. 27. On the Town Green in front of Snellville City Hall, 2342 Oak Road, Snellville. www.snellvillefarmersmarket.com/
Suwanee Farmers Market
The Suwanee market offers produce, herbs and flowers as well as jams, jellies, baked goods, honey and soaps and lotions. Vendors also bring dairy products including goat cheese, eggs, plants and certified USDA beef, pork and chicken. No reselling is permitted; products sold at the Suwanee Farmers Market must be grown or made by the vendor. Arts and crafts are not permitted at the market.
8 a.m.-noon Saturdays, May 3-Oct. 4; 4-7 p.m. Tuesdays, May 6-Aug. 5. 330 Town Center Ave., Suwanee. www.suwanee.com
Whistle Stop Farmers Market of Historic Norcross
This Norcross market, held in Thrasher Park, features products grown using organic and natural practices. Look for about 35 booths selling local grass-fed meats, produce, baked goods, yogurt, eggs, milk, soaps, dog treats and spices. Each year, vendors also come selling natural soaps and dog treats. Local musicians perform and there’s a kids’ corner that may feature face painting, farm animals or a chance to make a little artwork.
4-8 p.m. Tuesdays, from the end of May through October. 7 Jones St., Norcross. http://norcrossfarmersmarket.squarespace.com/
Woodstock Farmers Market
This is the sixth season for the Woodstock Farmers Market. Formerly held only on Saturday mornings, this year the market is expanding to Tuesday evenings. Along with the Cherokee County Farm Bureau, the market will offer special events on the first Saturday of each month including gardening demos, how to shop for produce, pie baking and eating contests and canning demos. Chefs from Woodstock restaurants also will offer cooking demonstrations.
8:30 a.m.-noon Saturdays, May 3-Oct. 25. Market Street in downtown Woodstock between Mill and Maple streets.
4:30-8 p.m. Tuesdays, May 6-Oct. 28. Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta, 915 Ridge Walk Parkway, Woodstock.
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