Franklin County community to get its own farmers market this year

PRESTON — A farmers market is coming to Franklin County.

The first ever Preston Farmers Market will be held on June 5 at 98 West 2nd North Street. This new market will feature over 30 vendors, and be held on every other Wednesday after the first one.

“(People) want the sourdough, they want the homegrown tomatoes, they want the healthy food that also tastes good and makes them feel good,” said Chloe Simanton, the director of the board for the new market.

Before this, the closest farmer’s market to the area was one held in Logan, Utah. For many who attended from Franklin County, it didn’t offer what they were looking for.

“Their farmers market has kind of turned into more of like a bazaar or a craft fair, and that’s all great,” Simamton said. “We actually want a farmers market. We want produce. We want agriculture.”

While holding city meetings to discuss the possibility of Preston getting its own farmer’s market, the city found there was a lot of community interest.

“The amount of people that were showing up to meetings and saying, ‘Oh, we want this,’ the board knew that we could do it,” Simanton said.

The board and numerous volunteers have been working for around a month after getting the official go-ahead to start the farmers market. As June approaches, news about the market has spread by word of mouth.

“People are really, really excited because Preston is kind of a smaller town,” Simanton said. “People want something that’s local and something that they can go to that’s family friendly, but also something that is sustainable, that can help our bodies.”

There will be vendors for children and adults at the market.

These are the vendors for children:

Ryder’s Rice Crispies T & W Prints Baa Baa Bloom BanJo’s Cottage Cafe Sleepy Time Cafe Kolt’s Coop and Garden Zayley’s Dresses & Designs Oliverson Homestead Art by Ayden Endeavors with Rigdon

These are the vendors for adults:

Loriswildegarden SeeNik Gardens Manic_Milkbeads Granny Goose’s Country Home Sovereign Mountain Goods Home Baked Goods A Drop of Goodness Some Chick’s Pantry Some Chick’s Wellness Leah’s 30 Miles from Grace Rockhill Cheese Wendi’s Chocolates and Desserts Tomato + Basil Family Garden That Caramel Apple Lady Preston Multi-Media NSC Farms Robin’s Nest BiZy Bloomin Jen’s Sweet Treats Lorajean’s Magazine Red Barn Meat Co Chloe’s Cuisine

This doesn’t include some vendors with pending applications. The market will still be accepting vendor applications until May 13.

At the beginning, the farmer’s market won’t have much produce. That will change as the summer continues and farmers are able to harvest.

The market will run until Oct. 23. In the following year, they plan to switch its day of operation to a weekend day.

Simanton said having this market in the county will benefit people in the county not only because it will be easier to attend, but it will also support the community.

“If I can support my local businesses and my local farmer, I feel better about myself because then we’re keeping the money in the community,” Simanton said.

Click here for information on other farmers markets in east Idaho.