Farmers Market Opens in May

The Edgewater Thursday Farmer’s Market is back for the summer season. 

Running seasonally from May through September, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Thursday, the market features local vendors, community engagement initiatives, activities centered around children, and aims to attract everyone –  people on lunch breaks and families and youths enjoying their summer holiday. 

There will be homemade crafts such as soaps, jewelry, and pottery for sale. Bread and flower bouquets. Fresh vegetables and fruits. Different types of plants. Oregon Mushroom Growers (OMG) will have a booth too, while Vianey’s Tacos will set up shop to draw in the lunch-break crowd. The Power of Produce club, a farmers market coalition, has a booth that caters to kids, encouraging them to try new vegetables. If they do, they receive $2 in market bucks to go and spend however they like. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has partnered with the market as well. For every $1 they spend on fruits and vegetables, participants receive $1 in market bucks to spend elsewhere. 

Also returning is the fan-favorite “Heart of West Salem” glass heart hunt, put on by Glass Art Oregon, a local glass blowing studio. One glass heart is hidden in or around the market, and children scamper around the vendors trying to find it. Whoever finds the glass heart first gets to keep it. 

This year will mark the market’s seventh season since its  rollout in 2019, when the Edgewater Partners, a community-focused group involved in neighborhood improvements and safety initiatives – run by Co-Chairs Roberto Garcia and Steve Anderson, and Jennifer Palanuk, Neighborhood Partnership Team Coordinator, and Kristin Kuenz Barber, of Northwest Human Services Edgewater Clinic  – saw a need for a community market where people could shop for local goods and receive information about services along the way. 

“We originally explored starting up a neighborhood market,” said Anderson, “but there were so many details to figure out, all the permits and insurance and fees –  we were in over our heads.”

That was when they reached out to the Salem Community Markets (SCM), a nonprofit that operates multiple farmers markets, for help. The two organizations joined forces, and now Edgewater Partnerships acts as a support system for the SCM. 

“Without them, we would be lost,” Garcia added with a chuckle. 

On the first and third Thursdays of the month, the EWP hosts an Edgewater Booth. Nonprofits and local groups are invited to share information and bring activities that are geared toward children and families. In years past, Salem Health put on a bubble-gum blowing contest while they promoted healthy eating. Mechanics from Hub Bicycle Shop came out and repaired bikes for free, and Caesar the “No Drama Llama” showed up for photo opportunities and to help close out the market. Other efforts have included book giveaways, art activities for kids, school supply giveaways, and craft kits from Gilbert House. Similar events will occur this year. 

If vendors are interested in setting up a booth, they can contact Salem Community Markets to establish their space at any point during the season. Reduced booth costs are supported by local business donations, so it’s easier for vendors to get started or continue season after season.