Support Your Local Farmers – Hall County Makes It Easy

Article for Georgia AgNews - June 2011

All across Georgia, people are rediscovering a desire for fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. Farmers markets are springing up in towns and cities at an astounding rate. It seems that every community wants their own farmers market. And now, Hall County has three.
Beginning each May with cool weather crops, such as lettuces and peas, and continuing through the growing season to October’s harvest of potatoes and pumpkins, residents can enjoy the bounty produced by local farmers and offered at farmers markets across the county.

Since 1973, Hall County residents have been able to obtain local produce at the Hall County Farmers Market. Last year, a farmers market was started on Gainesville’s Historic Downtown Square. This year, a third market opened at the Spout Springs Library in Flowery Branch.

All three markets share one major thing in common – local farmers and vendors who offer value-added products, such as honey, baked goods, jams, and jellies.

Our local farmers work very hard, often in extremely hot and humid weather, growing the wonderful vegetables and fruits we crave. When selling this produce to regular distributors, wholesale prices are often very low, often just over production costs. By selling directly to the consumer at a farmers market, and eliminating the middleman, farmers are able to get a better price for their products, keeping their farmland viable.

Many farmers need to sell at markets three to six days a week, picking their produce the day before. With so many farmers markets opening in Gwinnett, Fulton, and other adjacent counties, and with a limited number of farmers available, it is very important for Hall County residents to support our local farmers.

By giving the farmers a venue in which to sell their products, we can keep our local farmers right here in Hall County. The benefits are numerous. Consumers get fresh produce, baked goods, eggs, honey, and other items. Farmers benefit by having the opportunity to earn retail-level profits by dealing directly with the consumer. Supporting local farmers also helps support the local economy and keep farmland in production.

Purchasing direct from the farmer and vendor is also an educational experience for adults and children. The farmer can tell you exactly what went into growing the produce, when it was picked, and what to do with it once you get it home and into the kitchen. Vendors can let you know how their products are made. Both can provide a look into how we get our food, and children can learn that what they eat doesn’t grow in the basement of the supermarket.

To help further the educational aspects of our local farmers markets, we will be announcing cooking demonstrations at The Historic Downtown Market On The Square in the near future. Local restaurant chefs and other local cooks, using the produce available from the market, will do these demonstrations. We did these in the past and the response was great, with several people who claimed that they didn’t cook getting excited enough to try the recipes. Last year, the Market introduced Cast-Iron Chef Gainesville, a cooking competition using market produce that pitted local chefs against each other. This year’s competition will begin in late July.

The Historic Downtown Gainesville Market On The Square opened in July of 2009. Now in it’s third year, The Market On The Square is finally on the Square, under the shady trees and watched over by the statue of Old Joe.

The idea for this market came from conversations with local farmers and Gainesville residents. I wanted to bring a market to its traditional location, on the Historic Square in downtown Gainesville. Main Street Gainesville, which represents the downtown business area, wanted a farmers market every week. My neighbors to the north of the downtown area wanted something in the afternoon.
The “Town Square” has long been the traditional site for a local farmers market. Gainesville’s annual Mule Camp Market, held the second week of October, began years ago as a farmers curb market near the downtown square. Events centered around a town square enhance the quality of life of a community by creating social opportunities to gather and interact with our neighbors, local merchants, and of course, farmers.

This year, the Market has also welcomed the return of local craftspeople, with a variety of handmade and homemade goods including beeswax candles, carved bone jewelry, crocheted clothing items and folk art. Over the next few weeks, more craftspeople will be added as they are finding out about the Market.

The Friday market catches the late lunch crowd, the downtown workforce, including Government workers, and people on the way home. Some of these folks work in Gainesville, but live in Oakwood or Lula, and wouldn’t have made it to a farmers market at all.
A major benefit of the Friday market was to bring more people to the downtown business area. “We are thrilled to have the Historic Downtown Market on the Downtown Square, and businesses are certainly feeling the benefit of the extra foot traffic it brings downtown.

The Market provides the community with so much more than fresh produce; it brings people to the heart of our city and exposes them to our wonderful restaurants and stores, that they otherwise may have never seen,” says Angela Thompson, Manager of Main Street Gainesville.

The Historic Downtown Gainesville Market On The Square is located on the Square in downtown Gainesville. Market hours are every Friday afternoon through October, from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. or sellout.

The Hall County Farmers Market first opened in 1973 and moved to its current location 14 years ago. The Market is located at the corner of Jesse Jewell Parkway and East Crescent Drive near I-985, Exit 24, and is open every Tuesday from 6 a.m. to sellout and Saturday from 7 a.m. to sellout, which is usually around noon.

The Spout Springs Library Farmers Market is located in the parking lot of the library at 6488 Spout Springs Road in Flowery Branch, and is open every Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. or sellout.

Both the Hall County Farmers Market and The Historic Downtown Gainesville Market On The Square only allow farmers and vendors that have grown or produced the items themselves. No items are purchased from other sources and resold at the markets. In this way, these markets are places that support local farmers, foster community, and provide a place for residents to find healthy, freshly picked, homegrown produce and value-added products. All value-added products, such as homemade canned goods, baked goods, candies, and freshly prepared foods are produced in state-approved, fully licensed kitchens, in full accordance with all state laws. The Spout Springs Library Farmers Market allows some reselling.

For more information about all three farmers markets, go to our website at www.hallfarmers.org. There are links for directions, what’s in season, who the vendors are, and recipes from previous years. There is also contact information for each market.

If you are a farmer, vendor or craftsperson, or if you are a gardener with way too much fruit and vegetables, we would love to have you join us.

Steven Thomas
Market Manager – Historic Downtown Gainesville Market On The Square
678-943-4442
steve@hallfarmers.org
www.hallfarmers.org