Weiser Farmers Market opens July 15

The Weiser Farmers Market is set to open this year on July 15 and will run through Sept. 9, from 5-7:30 p.m. on Thursdays at the historic Weiser Train Depot off Commercial St.
 Originally established in 2012 by the Weiser River Resource Council, the market will feature 23 vendors for its 2021 season.
 “People get behind it and it keeps getting better and better,” said market organizer Jim Felton. “We’ve run out of room. We are about as full as we are going to get this year.”
 There will be fruits, vegetables, baked goods and other perishables that are home grown and handmade.
 The Market is approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to accept SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) cards (formerly known as food stamps) to help low-income families have access to the freshest and nutritious produce available in Washington County, according to Felton.
 As a member of the Idaho Farmers Market Association, the Weiser Farmers Market is once again able to offer the Double Up Bucks program for use with SNAP cards. The program doubles, up to ten dollars, each week, the buying power of the SNAP cards for the purchase of healthy fruit and produce.
 “People with SNAP cards can come directly to our booth and they get tokens,” Felton explained. “They’ll slide their card, it goes directly off of their card, into our account and we give them dollar tokens, which they use to buy any of the food products. They also did a Double Up Bucks program last year, and they’ll be doing that again this year.”
 The Double Up Bucks program is made possible through a grant from the Idaho Farmer’s Market Association under the USDA.
“It’s to get people to come in and get healthy food as opposed to other options,” Felton said.
 Felton said he expects sizeable crowds as long as the heat doesn’t get too much worse.
 “People are wanting to get out, so it should be good,” he said.
 Here is a list of this year’s vendors:
 Sterling Shaved Ice, Sterling Blackwell; James and Christen Jensen, live plants; Chelsea Post, baked goods, crafts; Claudia Erickson, baked goods, crafts; Art of Jams, Wendy Martell, jam’s and jellies; Matthews Family Farms, Patti Matthews, honey, lamb, bee balm; Community booth, felines needing purrfect homes and dog rescue; Helen Chandler, artisan soaps, beeswax lip balm; Metropole Bakery,  Lynnette Buller, pies and pastries and breads; Ida-Cal Organics, Jim and Linda Getten, micro greens; Betty’s Crafts, Betty Fuller, handmade crafts; Auld Memories, Barbara Pruner, vintage clothing; Hippy Chic Designs, Pia Garbanni, jewelry and art; Gypse Haus Meads, Rachel Casey, meads and produce; FlutterButter the Clown, Leslie Bootsma, face painting; Symon Bootsma, wood crafts and toys; Brian Roning, wood crafts; Tailgate Bouquets, Tonya Jantz and Adrienne Ensz, flowers; CaneMah Studios, Thea Bendix and Joe Scheindegger, jewelry, garden ornaments; Dan and Pam Shaw, wood signs and resin crafts; Waite Family Farm, Jennifer Waite, produce; Kelley Orchards, Ron and Kimi Kelley, fruit; Huptye, Shaylene Smith, crafts and produce; Weiser Lavender, Roy Praeger, lavender products and plants; Blessed Family Farms,  John Jackson, produce; GW and Sons Lemonade,  Wendy Clark, lemonade and limeade; Community booth, Weiser Memorial Hospital, Kasey Brock; Community booth, U of I Extension.