The Franklin County Farmers Market is located in River View Park, which is on land owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, but maintained by the City of Frankfort. A recent planning process showed the farmers market moved to the other side of the highway offramp, but not everyone agrees that moving the market is necessary or desirable. They do agree that the market is important to the community and to local producers, who vend at the market.

Increased local foods initiatives could boost the city’s efforts to diversify the local economy and reduce its poverty rate, which was about 20 percent in 2016. According to the city, the portion of downtown east of the Kentucky River has a poverty rate exceeding 35 percent, median income is $13,000 less than the city as a whole, and about 29 percent of the population did not finish high school. This is the area where the city is looking to extend access to fresh food and perhaps locate a commercial kitchen. The neighborhood has also been designated an opportunity zone, which the city and its partners can use to recruit people and firms to invest in the area.  With the loss of a local grocery store in South Frankfort, access to fresh food has been further diminished in the downtown area.

Frankfort’s emphasis on revitalizing the downtown and increasing opportunities for the lower-income residents of the area, made the city a good match with the federal Local Foods, Local Places technical assistance program. In 2018, Frankfort requested assistance through Local Foods, Local Places to develop an action plan for building the local food system and creating a healthy, walkable, economically vibrant downtown. The Steering Committee decided to focus its technical assistance process on the goals to determine a pathway to permanence for the farmers market, build up food-related infrastructure and services, boost place-making initiatives, and increase access to fresh, locally-grown food. With these goals, the city seeks to connect visitors of outlying attractions with the downtown area, retain young people, and attract talent to Frankfort. The action plan is being finalized and will be presented to the city council for adoption and implementation.