City Farmers' Market Opens for the 2018 Season April 7

Bloomington, Ind. - The City of Bloomington welcomes spring with the opening of the 44th season of the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market season on April 7. Market hours are 8 a.m. through 1 p.m. each Saturday from April through September, and from 9 a.m. through 1 p.m. in October and November. The Farmers’ Market is located at Eighth and Morton Streets in Showers Common next to City Hall.

Admission to the Farmers’ Market is free. Early-season shoppers can enjoy the tasty offerings of prepared food vendors as well as farm-fresh spring vegetables and farm products.

Anticipated farm products for the season's first Market are: Greens, bedding plants, perennial plants, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pork, beef, lamb, chicken, eggs, flowers, jams and jellies, onions, garlic, winter squash, cheese, mushrooms, herbs, frozen fruit and vegetables, and more.

There are a number of new prepared food vendors to enjoy this season, in addition to some returning favorites: Needmore Coffee Roasters, inBloom Juicery, BloomingTea, The Inkwell, and Pili's Party Taco will all be present at the first Market, with Macaron & Co. joining in May.

Entertainment turns shopping into a festive event. Home-brewing enthusiast club, The Hop Jockeys, will give home brewing demonstrations on stage all day. The Naturalist at Market will host a table featuring nature interpretation for all ages. A city-sponsored public health fair takes place from 9 a.m. until noon in the atrium inside City Hall. Mayor John Hamilton will kick off the "City at the Market" series of conversations on opening day at 10:30 a.m.

The Farmers’ Market will again double SNAP (food stamp) dollars in 2018, as long as funding is available. Food stamp shoppers can take their food stamp cards to the Farmers’ Market and use them to buy “Market Bucks.” Market Bucks are available in $3 increments, and can be used just like cash at Market to buy food stamp-eligible farm products. For every $3 in food stamp benefits exchanged, the Market will give $6 in Market Bucks. Draw up to $18 in food stamp benefits, and receive up to $36 in Market Bucks!

The Farmers’ Market also offers gift certificates for Farmers’ Market items. Gift certificates are available for purchase at the Parks and Recreation Department’s information table at Market each Saturday, and are accepted by almost all the vendors at the Market.

Temporary bike racks are available on Saturdays along the B-Line Trail at Seventh and Eighth Streets. There are permanent bicycle racks in front of City Hall, next to the "Bloomington Waters" limestone sculpture/fountain. Free vehicle parking on Saturdays is available north of City Hall in Red permit spaces, and in IU "EM-S" permit spaces. On-street pay parking can be found at the meters for $1 per hour. Additional pay parking (50 cents per hour) is available in the Morton Street Garage. Bloomington Transit Route #2 stops at the Market once each hour on Saturdays.

Public restrooms and an ATM are available inside City Hall. Dogs are not permitted at Market on the paved area of Showers Common, where the farm vendors are set up.

Sign up to receive a weekly Farmers’ Market email on the Farmers’ Market website at bloomington.in.gov/farmersmarket. The Farmers’ Market is also on Facebook; search “Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market.”

For more information on Farmers’ Market or available products at Market, call the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation office at 812.349.3700 or visit the Farmers’ Market Web site at bloomington.in.gov/farmersmarket.

###