By Kaylee Paiva

REXBURG, Idaho — The Rexburg Farmers Market is a place where vendors and community members enjoy connecting and supporting each other.

Beginning each year in early Spring (usually the first week of May) and extending through fall, the market is held at the Madison County Fairgrounds in Rexburg. Local farms and other vendors prepare all week for the Friday market, which has been open to the public from 4 to 8 p.m., but will be open 4 to 7 p.m. for the remainder of the season.

Some people are upset that there isn’t as much produce at the market this season as there has been in previous years. Jamie Ashcraft, coordinator for the Rexburg Farmers Market and owner of the Food Dudes produce stand based out of Sugar City, talked about this concern and wanted the community to know that the Farmers Market is aware.

“This year has been especially difficult for a bunch of reasons,” she says. “Several local farmers had some crop disasters and we’ve had trouble growing things. There was a late freeze. You may not see a whole ton of produce here for these reasons, but please come and support those that are here and who were able to grow things and make it happen. The harvest is hard.”

Despite these difficulties, there are still a few booths dedicated solely to local fruits and vegetables in addition to the other vendors.

An added bonus that community members might not realize is that EBT is accepted at the Farmers Market. Ronda Ball is Ashcraft’s right-hand-woman and also works hard to make sure the market runs smoothly each week. One of her primary responsibilities is processing food stamp benefits. Consumers can visit her information booth to the right of the main entrance, and she will exchange food benefits for tokens that can be used to purchase food with a variety of vendors. Ball explained that the market also receives grant funding for Double-Up Food Bucks.

“It’s basically free money,” she says. “We run their card for a certain amount, and then we can do the double-up for up to $15. We have a sponsor that donates money to help fund the program.”

Ashcraft says, “It’s basically a match program for up to $15. Beyond that, you can swipe your EBT card for more, but you get up to $15 per week of free fruits and vegetables. All of the produce at the market is grown locally, here in Idaho.”

Ashcraft and Ball both highly encourage members of the community to take advantage of the program.

They also both agree that their favorite part of the Farmers Market is the people involved. Ashcraft says that she loves the people, the community getting together, and seeing people at the market. She says that it changes all the time, too.

She explained, “We get new vendors all the time. It’s not a one-and-done kind of thing when you come to the market. We have people applying to be vendors even now. We have one new vendor that’s supposed to start the very last week of the season.”

Some of the non-produce booths sell honey, home-baked goods, gluten-free desserts, handmade jewelry, a wide variety of local food, paintings and poetry, wood art, photography, fresh-cut flowers, baby items, religious art, and items from many other small local businesses.

“There really is a uniqueness to each vendor,” Ronda commented. “We need all of them.”

Click here for a complete list of vendors at the market each week.

With the start of the new school year, high school football season, and evenings growing cooler and darker earlier, organizers decided to close the market 7 p.m. for the remainder of the season.

To celebrate the close of the season and the fall harvest, the Farmer’s Market will be hosting a Harvest Fest on September 30th. There you will find extra vendors, activities, raffles, prizes, yummy food, good music, and family-centered fun. Some of the produce that the community can expect are winter squash, pumpkins, potatoes, and peaches. Ashcraft stated that “with Harvest Fest, we want to celebrate the start of fall and to create a fun ambiance for the community. There will be a lot of good music with a live DJ, karaoke, a photo booth, and other fun things.”

The last day of the 2022 Market is Friday, October 7th, one week after the Harvest Fest celebration. Until it ends, the vendors hope to see a lot of the community come and check it out.

See rexburgcommons.com for more local news and events.