Over the last several years, the Lawrence County Farmer’s Market has taken a big hit with the loss of farmers & buyers. After the 2022 Farmer’s Market Season the Lawrence County Extension staff, including Farmer’s Market Manager Stacy Jordan, brainstormed several ideas to attempt to increase numbers at the market.

One attempt to increase numbers was the first annual artisan vendor evening market in June of 2023. This evening market was a huge success with a huge turnout from the public, including many people who had never visited the Farmer’s Market before. The artisan market included local food trucks, over 15 local artisans, and live music. The evening artisan market was such a huge hit that we hosted another in October of 2023, with almost double the number of artisans! This has had a huge impact on regular market attendance. Farmer’s have gone from barely selling anything, to selling out!

Since the success of the Farmer’s Marker over the 2023 season, we have also seen usage from the senior voucher program increase tremendously. Almost all funds that were given out have been used for this season. We are projected to receive more vouchers next year because of this.

After the successful Farmer’s Market season, we have seen a very large increase in buyers, sellers, and usage of senior vouchers in the county. The Lawrence County Farmer’s Marker has been an enormous success and we are looking forward to more growth in the future.