In the summer of our country's bicentennial, a small group of farmers initiated a tradition that continues today, Saturday mornings at the Farmers' Market in Downtown Lawrence.
According to Ed Sample, one of the founding farmers, that first year "we thought we were doing well if there were as many as five vendors. Usually there were three or four." Then held in the Chamber of Commerce parking lot at 8th and Vermont Streets, the Lawrence Farmers' Market was held every Saturday, from the end of May through September. The market was open from 7:00 am until 4:00 pm or until the farmers sold everything.
Three years after the market's launch, the number of vendors had grown to 49. Shirley Domer wrote in a 1979 Farmers' Market booklet, "There has been a holiday air about this market all season. Only an occasional patron is in a hurry. Most stroll about making leisurely selections and visiting with friends they chance to meet. Many pleasantries and smiles are exchanged. Sellers visit with patrons and with each other."
While the Farmers' Market remains the social occasion and celebration of local produce it was more than three decades ago, so much has changed. With two locations and three markets weekly, the season currently stretches over 31 weeks from the last Saturday in April to the second Saturday in November. With more than 80 vendor members, the Farmers' Market in Downtown Lawrence has become the premiere place to obtain the freshest, most nutritious locally produced agricultural products in the region. As a strict "producer-only" market, our patrons are presented with the unique opportunity to directly connect with the grower, rancher or cook of what they purchase. We like to say, "If you raise it, bake it or make it in Kansas, you can sell it."
The Farmers' Market is organized and governed by a vendor-elected Board of Directors and the Market Coordinator. Talk to our Coordinator about getting involved in our Friends of the Market Committee. We want your help to make the market even better!
