BLOOMINGTON. – The Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market opens the weekday version of the Market for the 2021 season on June 1 from 4 until 7 p.m. at the Pavilion at Switchyard Park, 1601 South Rogers Street.
For the first time, A Fair of the Arts, an art and fine craft fair featuring local and regional artists, will be held in conjunction with the Tuesday Market every other Tuesday through Sept. 21.
Both events will run concurrently outside the Pavilion, with farm vendors set up on the brick plaza on the north side of the Pavilion near the Rogers Street parking lot, and A Fair of the Arts artists set up on the Pavilion lawn.
Admission to Tuesday Market and A Fair of the Arts is free. Free parking is available in the Switchyard Park parking lots off South Rogers Street, South Walnut Street, and Grimes Lane. To visit the Tuesday Market and A Fair of the Arts via Bloomington Transit, take #2 South Rogers/Countryview.
A Fair of the Arts vendors and products can be found on the A Fair of the Arts website at AFairOfTheArtsBTown.Weebly.com.
Additional Tuesday Market information can be found on the Tuesday Market website at bloomington.in.gov/farmers-market/tuesday.
Farmers’ Market staff remain committed to the health and safety of fellow employees and Market shoppers alike. Staff will continue to wear face coverings when interacting with customers and coworkers, and will continue to follow safety protocols. The use of face coverings and physical distancing among groups of people who do not live in the same household is recommended for Market shoppers and vendors.
The Bloomington Parks Foundation is continuing its support of the Double Market Bucks program at the Tuesday and Saturday Farmers’ Markets doubling Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits at the Market, up to $27 per Market day. SNAP participants may use up to $27 in EBT benefits to purchase up to $54 in “Market Bucks”, which are gift certificates that can be used just like cash to purchase qualifying items from Market vendors.
The Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market is furthering its mission to support access to nutrition for vulnerable populations by using a grant from the Bloomington Health Foundation to triple Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program benefits for low-income seniors and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) participants.
The Bloomington Health Foundation in January 2020 awarded a grant for $79,976 to the Bloomington Parks Foundation to be used for tripling these supplemental nutrition programs at the Farmers’ Market in 2020 and 2021.
Eligible WIC participants are issued Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) vouchers that can be used at Market for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables. Because of this grant from the Bloomington Health Foundation, WIC clients will be provided a coupon which triples the value of their FMNP benefits. That coupon can be exchanged at the Farmers’ Market for “Market Bucks”, which can be used like cash at the Market to buy food from participating vendors.
The grant also provides for the tripling of Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program vouchers, offered through the Area 10 Agency on Aging.
For more information about the Tuesday Market, or about any of the nutrition programs at the Market, contact Clarence Boone, Farmers’ Market Coordinator, at clarence.boone@bloomington.in.gov or 812-349-3738.
To learn more about A Fair of the Arts art and fine craft fair, contact Crystal Ritter, Community Events Coordinator, at ritterc@bloomington.in.gov or 812-349-3962.
