Downtown Lansing Inc. set to debut Reutter Park farmers market

Krystal Nurse, Lansing State Journal
·2 min read

LANSING — A farmers market is set to run this season just blocks from the state capitol in downtown.

Downtown Lansing Inc. will host a farmers market from 3 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday, from June 6 to Sept. 26 at Reutter Park, 400 S. Capitol Ave., the group said in a press release Wednesday. The market is expected to include vendors offering fresh produce, baked goods, local meats and cheeses, and handcrafted items.

Nature's 92, Clean Refillery, and slushie, dog food and other vendors have signed up, according to Jazmin Anderson, events and market manager at Downtown Lansing Inc. Vendors are allotted space in the 10 market sheds and the concrete pad the organization built in November 2022.

A ping pong table and sheds at Reutter Park on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Lansing.
A ping pong table and sheds at Reutter Park on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Lansing.

The stalls sat empty from mid-February until this month, but Anderson said the sheds were intended for use hosting markets downtown.

"The plan was to always do a farmers market," Anderson said. "It may not be something every month, but there will be different seasonal events happening throughout the year."

The market will not take place July 4 and 18, Aug. 15 and Sept. 19 to allow people to attend farmers markets hosted on the Capitol lawn, Anderson said.

Anderson said in the release the board is building off the momentum from the Kringle Holiday Market.

"Adding a weekly downtown Lansing farmers market to the programming downtown is a perfect embodiment of our vision," she said.

Downtown Lansing Inc.'s project drew criticism at the end of 2022 as advocates for those experiencing homelessness called the project "shameful" as it debuted during National Homeless Awareness Week, Nov. 12-20. Reutter Park is known as a place where those who are homeless or living on the streets often congregate, and where outreach groups serve that population.

Some of the sheds at Reutter Park on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Lansing.
Some of the sheds at Reutter Park on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Lansing.

Anderson said Thursday the board is working with the city and meeting with organizations to learn how they can "best advocate for people who are unhoused." She said they attend the city's ad-hoc on Homelessness & Solutions Committee.

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Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at 517-267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Downtown Lansing Inc. debuts Reutter Park farmers market June 6