Summer has arrived and, as always, it ushers in a quieter, more relaxed downtown Athens. Whether it’s because of the relentless heat or the exodus of university students, everything just seems to move a little more slowly. And what better way to embrace the simplicity of the season than by enjoying some freshly picked strawberries or a summer salad made from seasonal ingredients, all found at our very own Athens Farmers Market? The Saturday market will continue to be held at Bishop Park, but organizers hope you may be more inclined to check out the midweek market this summer because of its new, more centralized and visible location.
Beginning Wednesday, May 16 and continuing until the market closes for the colder months in October, the midweek market will operate on Wednesday evenings from 4–7 p.m. on the sidewalks lining College Avenue and Washington Street right in front of City Hall. The Bishop Park market will continue to be held on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m.–12 p.m. At both markets, patrons will find only fresh, Certified Naturally Grown food, which is equivalent to USDA Organic standards, only without the bureaucratic involvement of the USDA. In addition to purchasing local foods, visitors can shop to the sounds of local musicians.
“It will probably be a few weeks” before live music comes to the new downtown location, says Jerry NeSmith, the market’s treasurer and a member of its board of directors, “but we will have local musicians at this location as well. All local musicians.â€
The Athens Farmers Market has grown considerably since its first season in 2008. Two years after opening at Bishop Park, the market added the downtown location at Little Kings Shuffle Club. But the market has outgrown the small courtyard. “Joey [Tatum] at Little Kings was gracious enough to let us use his courtyard,” says NeSmith, “but our space there has been very limited.”
While the Bishop Park market has about 40 venders, the market at Little Kings could only accommodate about 14. “We want to make this move because we’re trying to expand the market and include more farmers,†says Jay Payne of Cedar Grove Farm, the president of the market’s board.
Late last winter, with the encouragement of Katherine Lookofsky of the Athens Downtown Development Authority, the board of directors applied for a special events permit to operate on College Square. The application was rejected because of objections to closing a street in the middle of downtown for 30 consecutive weeks. The location outside of City Hall was discussed as an alternative, but there was no ordinance in place to allow it. On May 1, the Athens-Clarke County Commission passed a modified street sales ordinance that can accommodate the market.
Some aspects of the Little Kings market will be hard to replace. “I will miss being able to drink a beer while I shop for groceries,†says Anne Devine, a frequent patron. But the new location will have advantages of its own.
In addition to being enthusiastic about the ability to expand, those affiliated with the market are excited to relocate to a more visible part of downtown. “We believe that this central location will be more accessible, enabling us to share what we do with lower income people in Athens,†says Payne. The market has accepted EBT cards from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (what used to be known as food stamps) since its 2010 season. Partnering with the nonprofit Wholesome Wave Georgia, the Farmers Market is able to match EBT purchases dollar for dollar, doubling the purchasing power of shoppers using these benefits.
For farmers, this means that lower-income people are able to buy more produce than they would otherwise be able to afford. The partnership with the state chapter of the national Wholesome Wave organization is exciting to local food advocates who want to extend the environmental and health benefits of local agriculture to include social justice initiatives addressing widespread poverty and hunger in our community.
So far, the program has been very successful in Athens. “Every year, we’ve seen between 50 and 100 percent growth of the program,†says market manager Jan Kozak. “We have, on average, about 30 [EBT] swipes at our markets… sometimes it goes up to 50 or 60 swipes per week.”
The Wholesome Wave Georgia program is currently at 14 farmers markets across the state. Last year, EBT users spent $21,000 of benefits from the federal program at the Athens Farmers Market. Wholesome Wave matched this amount, doubling it to $42,000 in locally grown food for low-income members of the community.
The Athens Farmers Market is dedicated to spreading the word about the Wholesome Wave program to those it can benefit. Earlier this year, the market partnered with the Northeast Georgia Food Bank, providing materials to distribute to patrons of the food bank to tell them about the program. “We’ve gone to churches, we speak to civic groups… we’ve done a lot of things to try and get the word out,†says Payne. â€But, I think this partnership with [the food bank]—I hope—is going to really reach the people we want to affect with this program.â€
Payne says the Wholesome Wave program works in the interests of everyone in Athens because eating nutritious food will lead to lower health care costs and better performance in schools, benefiting the entire community. The program has support from a broad coalition of stakeholders, including Kaiser Permanente of Georgia, which donated $10,000 to the Georgia chapter with the hope of addressing obesity-related illness.
NeSmith points out an additional benefit of the more central and visible location: “Several downtown restaurants have already expressed interest, and will be buying their food from the farmers market.â€
NeSmith says it will also bring more people to downtown Athens and benefit all of the downtown merchants. “The market itself affects the local economy more than spending dollars in the grocery store,†he says. “You’re spending dollars with someone who’s local, and they’re going to be spending those dollars locally.â€
Most of all, the Farmers Market’s leaders stress community: Payne says he wants it to be the theme of this year’s market. “It’s an awareness of being part of a community,†he says. “We couldn’t do what we do without the community supporting us, and we try to provide a very positive service and benefit to the community in return.â€
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