Green Market
Open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Green Market is located at the 12th Street entrance of Piedmont Park. Started 10 years ago as a project to clean up the park and provide local produce to the community, the Green Market is continuously growing and adding new vendors.
“Four to five years ago it really exploded and the people in the community really started to support it and use this as their regular shopping experience instead of going to their grocery stores every week,” Green Market manager Holly Hollingsworth said. “But it did take a lot of time and effort.”
The market features an average of 30 local vendors from less than 100 miles away. From well-known Atlanta food carts like King of Pops and Doggy Dogg to small organic farms like the Funny Farm and Skylight Farm, the Green Market hosts a wide array of local vendors.
Justin Aiello of Skylight Farm quit his job in landscape architecture to move to a more sustainable business. After watching a farming documentary, he decided to start one of his own.
“When I first started the farm, I was just searching around Atlanta farmers markets and I love the idea of being in the heart of the city,” Aiello said.
The Green Market hosts chef demonstrations and live music weekly. The market also offers family-friendly special events like Pumpkins in the Park, an annual Halloween event.
Decatur Farmers Market
Located in the heart of Decatur on McDonough Street, the Decatur Farmers Market provides the community with a source for local and organic food every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Revolution Doughnuts, Sparta Imperial Mushrooms, Laughing Rabbit Farm and Zocalo Salsas are just a few of the vendors at this bustling market. With all of the vendors coming from no more than 150 miles away, the market provides products that are truly local.
“[Farmers markets] are a direct link between the farmer and the consumer and provide healthy, fresh food and the majority of the farmers here are really local or probably within an hour drive so your market is supporting consumers and consumers are supporting local food,” Chris Haslacker of Laughing Rabbit Farm said.
As a member of Community Farmers Markets, an organization designed to help manage farmers markets, Decatur Farmers Market works with Wholesome Wave Georgia to encourage people from all income levels to shop at the market. Through this project, the market doubles food assistance benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The market aims to harvest an increased sense of community along with providing local produce to Decatur.
Morningside Farmers’ Market
Morningside Farmers’ Market, located on North Highland Avenue, provides the neighborhood of Morningside with local organic products. Almost 20 years ago, a few local farmers created the market with the purpose of providing the Morningside neighborhood with organic produce. The market grew with support from the community and today is host to roughly 10 vendors.
“I think probably the most important aspect is that [Morningside Farmers’ Market] ties the community directly to the people who are growing the food,” Mark Lui of Crystal Organic Farm said.
The farmers market occurs every Saturday year-round. All of the farms are located within Georgia and produce specialty products like breads, pickles, pasta, coffee and soaps. The market prides itself on being completely certified organic, meaning every vendor at the market grows and produces the products themselves. Chef demonstrations from local culinary masters occur regularly at this market.
East Lake Farmers Market
Founded in 2009 on an abandoned corner lot at Hosea Williams Drive and 2nd Avenue, East Lake Farmers Market strives to increase community participation and awareness of locally grown produce. The market is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is one of the smaller farmers markets around Atlanta with 12 to 15 local vendors in the peak of the season.
East Lake Farmers Market is located on the East Lake Urban Farm which provides the market with fresh produce grown by the members of the community. The market has a wide variety of products from vegetables and fruits to coffee, bath and body products.
Like Decatur Farmers Market and Grant Park Farmers Market, East Lake Farmers Market works with Wholesome Wave Georgia. The market doubles nutrition assistance and benefits, providing affordable, healthy food to people and families with low incomes.
“I’ve made a lot of friends on this corner at this farm because people do stop by and they want to chat and they want to taste the greens that we have and talk about food and its always a good time,” said Corinne Coe, East Lake Farmers Market manager.
Grant Park Farmers Market
Located in Grant Park, Grant Park Farmers Market occurs every Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Started in 2011 by the Grant Park Conservancy, the market hosts an average of 40 vendors along with live music. King of Pops, Doggy Dogg, H&F Bread Co. and Atlanta Fresh Artisan Creamery are just a few of the regular vendors.
“I think the Grant Park Farmers Market brings good, organic local food to the community and I also think it brings social cohesion, community togetherness,” Lolly Beck-Pancer, Grant Park Farmers Market coordinator said. “You see all your neighbors, you nourish your bodies and you nourish your sense of community.”
The market is a member of Community Farmers Markets along with Decatur Farmers Market and works with Wholesome Wave Georgia.
“People use their food stamps benefits at the market, we double them and try to make good food affordable for everyone and support our small farmers,” Beck-Pancer said. “We are kind of leveraging that federal food stamp money into our local vendors and farmers.”
