With the area farmers markets opening for the season, many in the community are ready for everyone to gather together with their neighbors and local farmers—with some restrictions like those we have seen since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak. Organizers say these restrictions make the markets safer for everyone to purchase and enjoy a large variety of local produce and other goods.
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The Murfreesboro Saturday Market will kick off in June, and will be about the same as any other year, except for some social distancing measures, said Saturday Market Manager Linda Weeks.
“The farmers market is a wonderful experience, and I think people are looking forward to it,” she said. “The only thing we are going to have to ask is that people not clump together. We are going to have to ask people to maintain social distancing, so people feel safe. We have had a lot of customers who have contacted us and who have contacted the farmers and they are a little bit worried about coming to the market.
“They want to come to the market, but they just want to be sure that things are being done to maintain some kind of safety and to implement some precautions.”
The vendors will be more spread out throughout the market than in previous years, but with 49 vendors slated to come, there will still be the usual selection.
“I think people will see there is a lot more room,” Weeks said. “This means you will see about seven vendors in a space where ten were before.
“I would really like to give a shout-out to the mayor of Murfreesboro and the mayor of Rutherford County, who have offered us this space to expand the market. They know how much people like the market.”
Organizers also ask customers not to bring their pets this year, so people don’t crowd around them, as cute as pets are. People are asked to wear masks, and samples will not be passed out unless they are packaged.
“We would much rather be able to preserve the market and give up just a little bit,” Weeks said. “Our local growers and farmers depend on these markets for direct farm-to-table sales and a lot of them usually get a big portion of their income from restaurant sales that they just haven’t had enough of this year. They are counting on the farmers market. One farmer said that he had lost 60 percent of his business from losing restaurant sales. So we are really hoping people will take precautions and come to the market.”
A 2020 map of vendor locations is available at mainstreetmurfreesboro.org.
The Murfreesboro Saturday Market runs from 8 a.m. to noon each Saturday through September.
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Rutherford County Farmers’ Market has been in operation since 1975, said market manager Heather Lambert. This market runs on Tuesdays and Fridays from 7 a.m. to noon, providing an array of produce and goods at the Lane Agri-Park.
“For our 45th anniversary we opened Friday, May 10, under unprecedented times with some changes for the protection of the vendors and the community,” Lambert said. “The vendors’ temperatures are taken each morning before setting up and they are required to wear masks, as are the customers. Gloves are requested and those that are vulnerable need to take the necessary precautions. The vendors are spaced apart and we request that everyone practice social distancing. We do have masks from the Health Department for those that need one. Most of the vendors can accept electronic payment, with cash also accepted and tokens available to purchase for payment.”
Some other changes include the absence of the Master Gardener volunteers who sell concessions and answer questions. The Master Gardeners of Rutherford County will gather again in August. Until then, educational classes will be online only. Find them on the Rutherford County Extension YouTube channel.
Lambert said there will not be carts available to use at the market so shoppers should bring their own carts, wagons, boxes or bags if necessary for stocking up on berries, plants, produce, baked goods, a variety of meats, honey, jams, jellies, CBD items and, new to the market this year, mushrooms.
Sweet T’s BBQ will be at the market each Friday with breakfast and lunch offerings.
“We respectfully request customers to not touch the produce or other products,” Lambert said. “The best way to think about it is that no one else is touching what each customer is buying besides the vendor.”
She encourages those purchasing produce to visit picktnproducts.org for great recipes. Anyone wanting to keep up with what’s going on or coming up each month may sign up for the Rutherford County Extension Newsletter, at extension.tennessee.edu/rutherford.
Rutherford County Farmers’ Market is located at 315 John Rice Blvd. and is open from 7 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Fridays.
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Smyrna Depot Farmers’ Market is a smaller market with goodies and essentials that is held at the historic train depot in downtown Smyrna.
“The farmers market is excited to be able to open this year even with the changes,” said market manager Nikki Sasser. “We always want to grow both locally sourced and healthy, fresh products, and grow that sense of community that ‘I really know my neighbor, I really love my neighbor and I am here to help my neighbor.’”
The Smyrna market has about a dozen vendors, which include vegetable, fruit, meat and egg vendors as well as two craft vendors selling bath salts.
The Smyrna market has implemented a modified operating plan based on recommendations from the Health Department and the CDC. Vendors will stay six feet apart, will only wait on one person as a time and will be wearing facemasks and gloves. Customers are asked to attend individually, one shopper from each household, all approach the vendors from the same side, to wear face masks and use sanitizer that will be available for everybody.
The public is also discouraged from handling any of the products. Please point to what you want and the producers will package it, Sasser said.
The Smyrna market is a partnership with the arts initiative Carpe Arista and the Smyrna Parks Department.
“When you are participating locally, you are helping,” Sasser said. “Here, we say ‘be safe, stay healthy and live local.’ This is also the mantra we have been using to keep pushing ourselves throughout this time.”
The Smyrna Depot Farmers’ Market is on Front Street in downtown Smyrna. It is on Saturdays from 8 a.m. til noon.
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Lascassas Farmers’ Market’s is in its fifth year running and their market is held year-round.
“We are a producer-only market, and we don’t allow reselling, so the product that you are interested in was actually produced and raised by the person in front of you,” said Nina Hanson, who runs the market, and owns and operates Hanson Farms. “Some things here may look a little different than other markets.”
The Lascassas market tends to have specialty produce that can’t be found at all markets.
“We are finding that people are really warming up to and getting excited about trying seasonal foods,” Hanson said. “People learn to give it a try, so they can eat how the farmers eat and take advantage of our normal growing season. For example, fennel is one that I grow that people aren’t familiar with. Right now, we also have a lot of greens and broccoli and cabbage coming into season,” she said in late May.
“Producer-only vendors really have to take advantage of the length of season, and they can’t produce in volume, so they have to be able to produce as long as possible. So you do get some of those foods that are a little bit more unusual and this is what the producers are eating as well.”
Hanson said in March they had a couple weeks where they did have panicked shoppers who were coming to the market because they couldn’t find bread and meat.
“We have MTSU milk and we have eggs so we tried to help them,” she said. “The vendors gave away eggs and meat, and we purchased canned goods and dry goods and set up an area for people who felt like they needed something for their families.” Hanson added that this initiative, despite a tense week or two, ended up being a very positive one. “It turns out that we calmed some people’s fears.”
“We are here. You keep coming and we’ll keep producing our best that we can.”
The Lascassas Farmers’ Market opens at 8 a.m. on Saturdays, rain or shine, and is located at Lascassas Feed Supply, 7684 Barlow Ln., Lascassas.
The market will be practicing social distancing and customers are requested to wear masks.
“We say we are a small but mighty market,” Hanson said.
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La Vergne Farmers’ Market runs from 3 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday through September at Bicentennial Park, 5093 Murfreesboro Rd., La Vergne. Vendors will be spaced eight to ten feet apart. For questions, contact event coordinator Robert Rayburn at rrayburn@lavergnetn.gov.
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Batey Farms will not be at any farmers markets this year, but their farm store is open year-round and located at 5331 Baker Rd. in Murfreesboro. They have a variety of pork products as well as foods from other local farms.
“In May, we’ve had people stay in their car, and we came out to them,” said Katherine Whitt of Batey Farms. “Customers are coming through our temporary drive-thru. Like most businesses, we don’t know what our plans will be two weeks ahead, so please visit our website for more information.”
Keep up with Batey Farms at bateyfarms.com.
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