The farmers market in Liberty is located along West Swannanoa Avenue. (Bob Sutton / Randolph Record)
LIBERTY — The farmers market in Liberty has new rules this year as organizers hope to jumpstart interest.
Kolby Riddle, director of the parks and recreation department for Liberty, said the farmers market near downtown is somewhat evolving.
“It kind of depends,” Riddle said in reference to the turnout of vendors. “Some of them may come and stay for an hour. You might get five or six.”
Riddle said rule changes require certain certifications for vendors selling food items such as meats or eggs. These rules are in place based on the health department and North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Also new is a fee for vendors. The costs is $20, which covers the whole year.
The farmers market’s hours for April through October are from 4-7 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays, while there are shorter weekday hours in November and December. It’s located at 423 West Swannanoa Ave.
Last week, there was no activity at the site in the early evening for one of the weekday open periods.
“Most of the time they come on the weekends,” Riddle said.
By reducing the market to three days per week it should help shoppers narrow the time periods to check instead of showing up and being disappointed on certain days if a preferred vendor isn’t present.
Riddle said more than a dozen vendors are registered, but they pick which days and times to set up when the market is open. He said there’s a core of several vendors who are regulars at the location.
“It is tougher because there are a lot of bigger towns around us (with farmers markets),” he said.
Still, in a rural community a farmers market can be a good resource for sellers and buyers.
“It’s more building it up and trying to find out what works for everybody,” Riddle said.
