Farmers Market extends hours

By KEVIN BOWDEN
Staff Reporter
A broader selection of produce and extended hours are planned for this summer’s Obion County Farmers Market.
“A lot of people are excited about it. I’m excited about it,” Brandi Wyrick told The Messenger this week.
The Obion County’s Farmers Market will open for the season Saturday morning and buyers can expect a nice selection of tomatoes, okra and squash. The selection of vegetables, fruit and other foods will expand as the harvest season progresses.
The market is located under the canopy in the parking lot of the Obion County Chamber of Commerce, located at 214 East Church St. in downtown Union City.
This season, the farmers market is introducing several changes in an effort to lure more customers and vendors.
The Obion County Farmers Market will be open from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays and from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The schedule is a change from previous years in which the market was only open three days a week, and two of those days the market was held during the afternoons.
“We’re really expanding the farmers market this season, and we hope the changes will bring in more people,” Obion County Joint Economic Development Corporation economic development director Lindsay Frilling said.
She has been working with Ms. Wyrick on the new farmers market schedule.
They are also recruiting more vendors to be a part of this year’s farmers market and they are promoting the value of homegrown produce.
Ms. Wyrick said she uses the hydroponic and aeroponic methods to produce her vegetable crops.
She moved to Obion County from Nashville, where she worked with the farmers market.
Now she is using her experience with the farmers market in Nashville to help the Obion County Farmers Market. She said the feedback has been very good for the extended hours of the local farmers market.
Ms. Wyrick is also working with a goat farmer who will have goat cheese and goat milk available at the farmers market, and she said she is also working with a vendor who will have fresh Gulf Coast seafood available this summer.
For more information about the Obion County Farmers Market, call the Obion County Chamber of Commerce at 885-0211.
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Staff Reporter Kevin Bowden may be contacted by email at kmbowden@ucmessenger.com.

Published in The Messenger 5.2.13