The Main Street Farmers Market opens today, Tuesday, May 6, at 5:00 p.m. According to Farmers Market Coordinator Gary Fail, this year will be the 13th year in operation for the market.
“The Main Street market is a little different than most,” Fail said. “Most importantly, it is sponsored by the Main Street organization and runs completely with volunteer help.”
Fail said the 2024 season was a record-setting year. Vendors and attendees can plan to attend the market each Tuesday evening from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Main Street Pavillion until growers are out of produce in the fall.
“One thing that makes our market different from other markets is that we do not charge our vendors to set up and sell their produce or craft items,” Fail said. “The Main Street market is registered with the Kansas Department of Agriculture and we do adhere to state and federal farmers market rules regulations and guidelines. One of those is that the produce or craft items being sold must be produced by the person selling them. Another guideline that often causes confusion is that we do not allow any selection or sales of produce or craft items prior to the starting time of the market.”
Farmers’ markets benefit the community in several ways, Fail said.
“From the social aspect it's a place to meet and visit with friends and neighbors and certainly qualifies as a weekly community social event,” Fail said. “Having direct access to homegrown fresh garden produce is certainly its greatest benefit. In this day and age, it is reassuring to know where your food is coming from and how it has been handled.”
Fail said individuals can speak directly with growers about gardening methods, and if they used pesticides on their products.
The Main Street Farmers Market also participates in the Double Up Food Bucks program. This program allows SNAP users to double the amount of dollars available to them to spend on fresh produce.
“It is funded through private donations and we have received a grant to help pay for the processing of the EBT cards,” Fail said.
For producers, Fail said every individual crafter or grower has a different reason why the market is important to them.
“It gives them a dependable time and place to meet with their customers, and in doing so makes their time spent marketing their produce much more efficient than selling directly from their production location. You will find that nearly all producers sell at multiple markets,” Fail said. “Also I found that producers like to visit with one another about their produce and the way the season is going so if you hang around the market long enough you get to hear some very interesting conversations about all kinds of produce and growing procedures.”
For more information on this market, contact Main Street Chanute at 620-431-0056, or visit https://www.chanutemainstreet.com/farmers-market/.
