Customers can have their picks of locally grown fruits and vegetables, baked goods and locally crafted items as the annual farmers market returns to Yelm beginning on Saturday, May 4, at 206 McKenzie Ave., near City Park.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday until the final sale of the year on Saturday, Sept. 28. Jon Jamieson, market manager, said community members will be excited to learn that seven different farmers, six local, will provide fresh produce at the market in 2024.
“I expect to have a great season. We’re super excited. We have the most farmers we’ve had signed up in five years,” Jamieson said. “We have seven farmers that will have everything from corn, asparagus, fruit, cherries, oranges. We have a really strong farmers presence this year. We haven’t had that for a long time, and we’re really excited about that.”
Jamieson added that the non-local farmer is from the Yakima Valley but sells his produce at several different farmers markets in western Washington.
“We’re still going to have the same setup as last year, with our location and how vendors are set up on the marked street,” Jamieson said. “We’re just hoping that with the farmer influx, we’ll have more traffic with community members coming through. The community has always wanted more vegetables there, and we’ve been struggling to find them, but we finally have.”
Last year, the farmers market moved to its new location on McKenzie Avenue, and Jamieson said the change of location had positive and negative aspects for the market.
“I would say it was good and bad. It definitely hurt us a little bit without the visibility and being blocked in there — even with our signs. People didn’t see us and were so used to us being at the community center,” Jamieson said. “Many thought we weren’t there anymore. At the same time, it was good because it gave it a real, true farmers market feel with being on the street. It’s more of a traditional farmers market now.”
The farmers market will provide an opportunity for visitors to City of Yelm-hosted events, such as Prairie Days or the Barbecue Rally, to check out fresh, locally grown produce after enjoying activities at Yelm City Park.
“I think the biggest part of being next to those events is having people that didn’t know the farmers market is there, acknowledge that it’s there now. We had a ton of people that came to us last year after not knowing we were there, with a desire to come back,” Jamieson said. “People should know that we’re always growing. It was definitely a growing year in 2023 with some ups and downs of learning about our new location since we aren’t in the community center anymore. Overall, I think it was a positive year with a lot of great events around us. It helped us get an idea for the 2024 season and how we can do even better.”
This year, Jamieson said he’s hopeful that the Yelm Farmers Market will average 20 vendors per week throughout the season. He said currently 26 vendors are committed to participating in the weekly sale this year.
“We always have a registration deadline for this month, but with the market always growing, we’re always very accepting of new vendors throughout the year,” Jamieson said. “I’m not going to double or triple up on vendors, but if something more unique comes up, or another farmer, we’re always open for someone coming in.”
Those interested in becoming a vendor at the Yelm Farmers Market can visit the webpage at www.YelmFarmersMarket.com and visit the vendor section to fill out the application.
