Preview the 2024 Saturday Market Season

in News, Stories, Murfreesboro Saturday Market, Main Street Members, Nashville, Murfreesboro, Rutherford County

Who sells at the market?

The Saturday Market opens on May 4 with a full lineup of vendors. We currently have 83 confirmed vendors attending, with a great mix of fresh produce, locally produced meats, flowers & plants, bakery goods, coffee, soaps, and artisan crafts. Each week during the 26 week season, we will have 69 vendor spots, musicians, and local business sponsors. This year we welcome back the Master Gardeners of Rutherford Co., the Friends of the Linebaugh Library, and other community partners. You can follow us on Facebook @ MurfreesboroSaturdayMarket to keep up with weekly market news on products, special events, and vendors.

Vendors, Birds and More

It's time now to clean out your birdhouses from last season, and it's a good idea to put out bird feed and clean your bird baths as our feathered friends begin scouting for new nesting spots. We are happy to welcome back "Backyard Tailz," part-time this season. New owner, Savanah, will bring specially crafted bird feed and feeders to the market.

Spring is a time to reflect on the beauty of nature.

"Produce from local farmers has spent more time on the vine, on the tree or in the ground, so you get better taste and more nutrients. When it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables, the shorter the time and distance from farm to sale, the higher the levels of vitamins and minerals." Melinda Cater, Johns Hopkins Dietician.

10 Reasons to Support Your Local Farmers' Market

1. Taste Real Flavors: The fruits and vegetables you buy at the market are the freshest and tastiest available. Fruits ripen fully in the field and are brought directly to you—no long-distance shipping, no weeks in storage.

2. Enjoy the Season: The food you buy at the market is seasonal. It is fresh and delicious and reflects the truest flavors.

3. Support Family Farmers: Family farmers need your support. Buying directly from local farmers gives them a better return for their produce and gives them a fighting chance in today’s globalized economy.

4. Protect the Environment: Food in the U.S. travels an average of 1,500 miles to get to your plate. This uses large amounts of natural resources, contributes to pollution, and creates trash with extra packaging.

5. Nourish Yourself: Most food found at the farmers’ market is minimally processed, and farmers work to grow the most nutritious produce possible by using sustainable techniques and picking right before the market.

6. Discover New Varieties: You will find produce that you don’t see in your supermarket: red carrots, a rainbow of heirloom tomatoes, purple cauliflower, watermelon radishes, quail eggs, and more.

7. Promote Humane Treatment of Animals: At the market, you can find meats, cheeses, and eggs from animals that have been raised without hormones or antibiotics, who have grazed on green grass and eaten natural diets.

8. Know Where Your Food Comes From: A trip to a farmers’ market is one of the best ways to connect with where your food comes from. Meeting and talking to farmers and food artisans is a great opportunity to learn more about how and where food is produced.

9. Learn Cooking Tips, Recipes, and Meal Ideas: Farmers, ranchers, and artisans at the farmers’ market are often passionate cooks with plenty of free advice about how to cook the foods they are selling.

10. Connect with Your Community: Wouldn’t you rather stroll outdoors on a sunny day than roll your cart around a grocery store? Coming to the farmers’ market makes shopping fun. The farmers’ market is a community hub—a place to meet up with your friends, bring your children, or just get a taste of small-town life in the midst of our city.

*Ideas from foodwise.org

Children's Market June 15

Main Street is working with the Children’s Entrepreneur Market to host a young entrepreneur day on June 15 downtown. It will be set up in the parking lot of the Bank of America building across from the courthouse. This event is designed to encourage young people 5-17 who want to try their hand at selling. Information and registration can be found on their website: childrensentrepreneurmarket.com. We hope to see some future market vendors at this event. When you shop at the Saturday Market, walk across to check out this event on June 15.

Buy Locally Produced

Many of our market vendors sell online and at other winter markets when the Saturday Market is closed. Check out the Saturday morning (8-11) market outside the Hamery. And, follow vendors on Facebook to keep up with options for online ordering and specials. Jonathan, at https://hpafarm.com/ is part of Pick TN products, and he’s offering a $100 Weekly Protein Package for 2025. You get 1 pkg ground beef, 1 pkg boneless chicken breasts, 4 steaks, 1 roast, 1 pkg pork sausage, 1 dozen eggs, and 1 pkg breakfast sausage. Ask our growers and producers about their package deals. HPA is at the Hamery every Saturday morning.

Welcome new full time vendors

This season we are excited that these vendors will be joining the Saturday Market lineup full time. They have sold with us as part-time vendors from one to four seasons, and we are delighted they are joining as full-time vendors on May 4.

Welcome to Keaton & Ashley,Candles By a Dad; Elaine & Trey, Here’s Your Sign Shop; Jake, Natural Bites Pet Food & Treats; Melissa, M3D Prints, Erin and Tara, McIntosh Field & Flower; Meghan, Quinntessential Creatives (for pets); Dr. Song & Students, MTSU Small Farm; Ace, Wilson Family Farm. Also joining as an expanded part-time vendor are Trinity & Dustin, Little Owl Craft Co.