‘Fresh, local, garden varieties:’ Why Lexington Farmers Market is Kentucky’s biggest

It’s summer time and the good eating is easy, especially with the help of the Lexington Farmers Market.

It’s the biggest market of its kind in Kentucky with more than 80 fresh produce and food vendors and partnerships that also showcase local artists and authors.

“Lexington is centrally located and has the reputation of being a strong market, so vendors from further away are eager to join,” said Adrienne Eggum, who runs Stonehedge Farm Produce and a former vice president of the market’s board. “The last couple of years we’ve let in a lot of new farmers.”

The market has been a part of downtown Lexington since 1975, growing from one block along Vine Street to two in high season, then moving in 2014 to the current Saturday location at Tandy Park on Main Street and the area around the Historic Old Courthouse.

What makes the Lexington Farmers Market special?

In summer, thousands of people will visit on the weekend and weekdays, according to the market. And major events like the annual Cold Brew Coffee Festival in August, where fans sample sips from area roasters, draw huge crowds.

At its peak, the market is five days a week, said John Garey of Garey Farms in Paris and the current board president.

“I’m not aware of any other place in the state that has that,” he said.

Mac Stone, who operates Elmwood Stock Farm in Georgetown with his wife Ann and her brother John, said that Lexington’s agrarian background means customers “know what a good green bean is and what it should taste like.”

Farmers have lobbied for regulatory changes at the local and state level that have allowed the market to add fresh meat, breads and other baked goods, jams and preserves, and even alcohol and items cooked on site.

“Growers are doing a good job and more and more people are looking for it,” Stone said. “None of that would have been if not for customer demand for fresh, local, garden varieties with more flavor, smaller carbon footprint and organic produce …. They were looking for it.”

Leo Keene of Blue Moon Farm outside Richmond said that the universities have played a role too.

“Parents visit on weekends and everybody eats,” Keene said. “It’s hard to go to the market and not find something you’d use and eat, and maybe it’s the best you’ve ever had because it’s so close to the source.”

The market has become one of Lexington’s biggest amenities, appealing a varied demographic. And bringing strangers together over the love of good food.

“You need to know your farmer. We love our customers, it’s a powerful bond,” Mark Henkle, co-owner with his wife Velvet of Henkle’s Herbs and Heirlooms in Nicholasville. “It’s essential for Lexington. And people who come to us know we grow it, it’s BS free zone. And we’re gonna make you want to come back. We’re putting everything we’ve got into this. And we’re proud of what we do.”

Changes coming to the Lexington Farmers Market

The market has seen many changes and moves, with more to come: With the coming development of the High Street parking lots, the market will need a new weekday home.

For many years, the market has been at the corner of Broadway and Maxwell on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Now the board is in talks with developer Chad Walker on a proposal to move the weekday and winter market to a new space on National Avenue.

Look for pop up events this fall to test the waters at potential new locations.

Where to find the Lexington Farmers Market

While the main Saturday market has been downtown since 1975, the market now has other locations throughout the city on different days. Every Saturday, year-round rain, sleet, snow or shine, you can find local producers at the Fifth Third Pavilion on Main Street next to the Old Courthouse, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. except in the winter when it’s open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

On Sundays April to October from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the market sets up along Southland Drive.

On Tuesdays and Thursday, from mid-May through mid-November, the market currently operates at the corner of Maxwell and Broadway from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. or whenever vendors run out.

And on Wednesdays from June through September from 4 to 7 p.m., the market is in Gardenside on Alexandria Drive near the post office.

What seasonal produce is sold at the Lexington Farmers Market?

You can easily make a meal (or many) from what you can get at the market; if you go regularly (and early enough) you’ll spot chefs from Lexington restaurants taking advantage of the superb local produce and meats.

Almost everything that can be grown in Kentucky can be sourced at the Lexington Farmers Market, which in 2013 was named the best in Kentucky and ranked eight in the nation in an annual poll by the American Farmland Trust.

Although the market operates all year now, things really get rolling in the spring, when tender early lettuces start appearing. Fans eagerly await the first appearance of delicacies like ripe strawberries and asparagus, fresh peonies and sugar snap peas.

About that time, the market starts to expand, adding Sunday midday sales on Southland Drive in April; Tuesday and Thursday morning sales in May; and Gardenside afternoon and evening sales on Alexandria Drive in Gardenside in June.

Different days have different personalities. Saturday is a mini festival, often with live music, dogs of every breed, art and a makers market. It’s a great place to people watch and to bring kids who can sign up for vouchers for free produce.

Sunday on Southland is all business. The market opens with a bell at 10 a.m. and lines often form to get the best stuff.

“It’s a frenzy. We don’t even get a chance to look up until 12:30,” Mark Henkle said.

With warmer days come juicy peaches, ripe tomatoes, sweet corn, watermelon and grapes in summer. Apples, pumpkins, paw paws and cushaws arrive in the fall. The winter features hardy greens and squashes, preserves, sauces, jellies and jams.

You can find out what’s usually in season at kyagr.com.

The Lexington Farmers Market allows vendors to sell items that they source from other farmers and even from out of state but all items must be labeled as either owner grown or with a county or state of origin.

Lexington Farmers Market has programs to make food affordable

Locally grown food can be more expensive than what’s for sale in the grocery store, but it can also be more nutritious and tasty. So the market has several options designed to make the fruits, vegetables and other items more affordable for a wide range of people.

“We’d like to invite everybody,” said Garey, the board president. “We’ve tried to be more inclusive of all folks and I think that’s a societal change from 20 years ago. That’s our goal.”

Lexington Farmers Market accepts SNAP/EBT cards; visit the market’s info booth and they will run your card and give you tokens for SNAP-eligible items at the booths.

The market also participates in the Kentucky Double Dollars program, which increases the buying power for some purchases made using EBT, WIC Farmers Market vouchers and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers for food-insecure populations in the Lexington area.

Any kid 14 and under can sign up for the Power of Produce Club and get a weekly $5 voucher to spend at the Saturday and Sunday markets in the summer, through a partnership with FoodChain, the Fayette County Cooperative Extension Service and the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department. It’s a fun way to get kids invested in eating better.

But when is the best time to go?

“Every Saturday all year long,” Garey said. “Not just Saturday, every market … every time we’re open.”