Farmers' Market Gets Underway

Music, inflatables on tap for Farmers’ Market season opener

Posted: Friday, June 3, 2016 11:36 am
Music, inflatables on tap for Farmers’ Market season opener

Mary Alford malford@ddtonline Delta Democrat Times | 0 comments

GREENVILLE — Saturday is the day everyone has been waiting for — the day folks will finally be able to get their hands on some fresh produce.
The Greenville Farmers’ Market will officially be open for the season Saturday — and will be stay open every Saturday afterward from 8 a.m. to noon. Residents will be able to purchase any type of fresh veggies or fruits from the market, which is at the corner of Washington Avenue and North Street. 

For the first day of the Farmers’ Market, Daniel Boggs, chief executive officer of Main Street Greenville and Greater Greenville Development Foundation, said they are going to pull out all the stops.
“As with every year, we always want to open it up big. … It’s a good time for the family to come down. We’re going to have inflatables for the kids. We’re going to have live music. We really want people to come down and just kind of experience the Farmers’ Market and see what we’re going to have available for the year,” Boggs said. “Like everything that Main Street does, we’re going to try to create a family environment for everybody, all ages.”
Boggs said Mike Flaton, from the Nashville area, will be playing music from about 9-11 a.m. Saturday. 
Although they are getting a later start than normal, Boggs anticipates the market staying open through the end of October. 
Boggs said the Farmers’ Market is important to the community because it gives residents the ability to get quality, organic food. He said this was especially important to Greenville because parts of the area are identified by the United State’s Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service as a food desert, meaning residents have limited access to supermarkets, supercenters, grocery stores or other sources of healthy and affordable food, which may make it harder for some to eat a healthy diet.  
“As an organization, we understand the importance of a Farmers’ Market to a community and providing the opportunity to buy the fresh fruits and vegetables,” Boggs said. “But to offer up a lot of other central items as well.We’re definitely opening it up to more than just farmers.” 
Boggs said they have seen growth around a lot of Farmers’ Markets throughout he United States and they are making a conservative effort to increase the visibility of Greenville’s Farmers’ Market and increase the vendors, goods and opportunities that will be there. 
“Hopefully, over the next couple of years, the people will see the Farmers’ Market evolve into a bigger thing than what we’ve had in the past,” he said. 
Those interested in setting up a booth can do so for $30 per month or $100 for the whole season. Setups do include electricity. 
For more information, residents can call Main Street Greenville at 662-378-3121.